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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23549527">greek tragedy</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ineedmygirl/pseuds/ineedmygirl'>ineedmygirl</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>greek tragedy [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>A quest!, Alternate Universe, Childhood Friends to Lovers, Coming Out, Coming of Age, First Kiss, First Love, Fluff and Angst, Gay Panic, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, PJO AU, akaashi is too, but with some tears, cabin family feels, greek gods being dicks, son of athena!tsukki, son of hades!kuroo, sugawara is the best big brother, teenage angst, thats canon, theme is: childhood trauma, tsukki smells like strawberries</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 17:02:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>89,720</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23549527</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ineedmygirl/pseuds/ineedmygirl</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“I’m Tsukishima Kei, from the Athena cabin.”</p><p>Kuroo blinked at him a few times, before cautiously taking Tsukishima’s pale, slender hand into his own much larger, much broader and tanner hand. He had scars and callouses that didn’t come from games of capture the flag.</p><p>“Kuroo.” </p><p>He didn’t say who his parent was.</p><p> </p><p>or, Tsukishima had seen everything there was to see at Camp Half Blood. That is, until Kuroo Tetsurou fell out of the sky.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Futakuchi Kenji/Tsukishima Kei, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kuroo Tetsurou/Tsukishima Kei, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Tendou Satori/Ushijima Wakatoshi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>greek tragedy [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1808944</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>360</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1246</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. the first summer</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hello again dear friends! on today's menu we have: a percy jackson and the olympians kurotsukki au</p><p>if you haven't read the books, here's the general premise: greek gods sometimes come down to earth and have kids with mortals - these kids are demigods. camp half blood is a sort of haven for demigods, since in the real world they attract monsters. the campers are divided into cabins based on who their godly parent is, and to avoid any confusion, i will say now that i refer to anyone in the same cabin as direct siblings (even though they are technically half-siblings)</p><p>okay, that should cover it - if you have any other questions about the pjo universe feel free to reach out and ask me (twt is the easiest way)!</p><p>sorry for all the notes, pls enjoy!!</p><p> </p><p> <br/><a href="https://twitter.com/oiiblondie/status/1250130720015691777?s=20">list of characters and their cabins</a><br/><a href="https://twitter.com/oiiblondie">twitter</a><br/><a href="https://twitter.com/oiiblondie/status/1249889808757010432?s=20">moodboard</a></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>The First Summer</b>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tsukishima had seen a lot of things in his time at Camp Half Blood.</p>
<p>He’d been coming to camp since he was young, much younger than most of the other campers. His father was an archaeologist, always on the move, and without his mother in the picture, it was easier for him to just bring Tsukishima to camp instead of towing him around the world with him.</p>
<p>He was also a year-rounder. This meant that while some of the other campers, the part-timers, were only here over the summer, Tsukishima was here for all four seasons. He didn’t have a house or parents to go back to, didn’t have a school to go to, or friends that would be missing him. He was just here, at camp, all year long.</p>
<p>So yeah, between the early years he spent here and the fact that he never left, Tsukishima saw a lot of things here at camp. He was there for almost every godly parent claiming over the past few years, every game of capture the flag, every Winter Solstice, every Summer Solstice, every single one of the Miya twins’ pranks, and the first time Oikawa laid eyes on Iwaizumi and declared the most epic and long-running “dibs” of all time. He was there when Ushijima first arrived and the Ares cabin set their sights on the big, powerful boy until a few months later, when he shocked them all by being claimed by Demeter. He saw campers leave on quests, and saw less of them return. Saw the Oracle give more prophecies than he could count, and saw how Chiron’s beard slowly got grayer and grayer.</p>
<p>Tsukishima was only thirteen, but he was pretty sure he had seen it all.</p>
<p>That is, until Kuroo Tetsurou fell out of the sky one spring morning.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>*</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>There had been a whole crowd of people circled around something Tsukishima couldn’t see when he finished breakfast that day.</p>
<p>“What’s everyone looking at?” Tsukishima, though at least a head taller than the other kids his age, still struggled on his tip toes to look over the older kids’ shoulders.</p>
<p>“Some kid just fell into the middle of the training grounds out of nowhere!” Nishinoya, perched on top of Tanaka’s shoulders, informed him cheerfully. “The Apollo kids are making sure he isn’t dead.”</p>
<p>“Did anybody tell Chiron yet?” Tsukishima asked in alarm.</p>
<p>“He’s on his way now.” Tanaka shrugged, making Nishinoya yelp and grab onto his cabin-mate’s bald head to keep from falling off. As politely as he could, Tsukishima shouldered past the Hermes boys and started squeezing his way closer to the front. He was small enough that no one seemed to notice or care when he pushed in front of them.</p>
<p>At the very edge of the crowd, Tsukishima recognized the back of his cabin leader’s smooth, silvery hair and made for that direction. When he felt Tsukishima tap him on the back, Sugawara tugged the younger boy to his side, so that Tsukishima could finally see.</p>
<p>It looked like a star had fallen out of the sky.</p>
<p>A black one. Or a nebula, maybe. Tsukishima was never that good at astronomy.</p>
<p>Laying in the middle of a shallow crater in the ground, surrounded by Apollo kids carefully checking his limbs and reading his pulse points, was the strangest boy Tsukishima had ever seen. He was dressed all in black from head to toe, covered in dirt from his crash-landing, and had a nest of hair the color of nightmares that stuck up at every angle. His eyes stayed mostly closed, though every so often an Apollo kid would pry his eyelids open and shine a flashlight in them.</p>
<p>They were the color of precious gold.</p>
<p>“Who is he?”</p>
<p>“Nobody knows,” Sugawara said sadly. He looked like he wanted to give the fallen star boy a hug, which, knowing Sugawara and his bleeding heart, he most certainly did.</p>
<p>“Where did he come from?”</p>
<p>Sugawara pointed up and offered no further explanation.</p>
<p>“Alright, move aside, please. Everyone, make room.” The crowd of campers parted easily for Chiron. The Centaur had a few hushed words with the Apollo kids, before lowering his two front legs and carefully gathering the unconscious intruder into his arms. “Back to your regularly scheduled activities. Cabin leaders, if you would be so kind.”</p>
<p>All of the cabin leaders called their campers into line, herding them to their activities, and Chiron galloped off with the boy and no further explanation.</p>
<p>Tsukishima didn’t stop thinking about whoever that boy was all day long. </p>
<p>He was so distracted, he didn’t even notice Yamaguchi making yellow daisies sprout in his hair until the Apollo cabin went walking past and Hinata very loudly pointed them out to everyone in the general vicinity. Tsukishima glared at his best friend while Yamaguchi just giggled helplessly and helped him carefully pluck the flowers from his head. That’s what he got for not paying attention to a son of Demeter, he supposed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>*</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The next time Tsukishima saw the boy who fell from the sky again, he was awake. </p>
<p>He was standing at the head of the dining pavilion next to Chiron, the camp director’s hand on his shoulder. “Campers, if I could have your attention for some announcements,” Chiron’s voice rang out, steady as a bass drum, and all of the campers were more quiet than Tsukishima had ever seen them before. It appeared Tsukishima wasn’t the only person wondering about the boy. “I’m sure by now you’re all aware of the incident that took place at the training grounds this morning. I’d like to shed some light on that incident now, to avoid unnecessarily worrying any of you. This young man,” Chiron clapped the boy gently on the shoulder, “is Kuroo Tetsurou. Kuroo will be staying here with us at camp, so please do your best to welcome him and show him the ropes. He’s one of us now.”</p>
<p>“Will he be staying in the Hermes cabin?” Atsumu Miya raised his hand to ask. He and his twin brother Osamu were co-head counselors of the Hermes cabin, and any demigod child who wasn’t claimed by their godly parent yet stayed in the Hermes cabin until they knew who their real parent was, if it didn’t up being Hermes himself. Some kids never got claimed, and ended up never leaving the Hermes cabin.</p>
<p>Chiron’s smile strained, his eyes flickered down to the boy next to him. Tsukishima, who may have been watching the boy a little too closely, noticed the suddenly rigid set to his shoulders. The defiant tilt of his chin. The lick of fire in his golden eyes.</p>
<p>“Well, that’s a good question, Mr. Miya. As it turns out, Kuroo has somewhat of a, a rather unique - “</p>
<p>“I know who my dad is,” Kuroo interrupted Chiron boldly. “I met him. He’s the one who brought me here.”</p>
<p>
  <i>Him.</i>
</p>
<p>Tsukishima’s mind immediately started to run through the list of all of the male Gods Kuroo could be a child of. (And silently celebrated the fact that Kuroo wasn’t <i>his</i> sibling, though at thirteen years old, he didn’t know why yet.)</p>
<p>He ruled out almost all of them right off the bat. If he were a child of Apollo or Ares or Hephaestus, it wouldn’t be considered a “unique” situation. It wouldn’t have made Chiron’s face pinch up like that.</p>
<p>Maybe - Maybe he was another child of the Big Three? The strongest of the Greek Gods: Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. They had very few children due to a pact they made decades ago, promising not to bring anymore demigods from their bloodline into the world. Children of the Big Three were notoriously insanely powerful, and usually quite tragic. But, as Bokuto and Sakusa were proof of, sometimes that pact got broken.</p>
<p>Not even the Gods themselves were perfect, after all.</p>
<p>“Hold on,” Oikawa stood from the Aphrodite table, a hand planted on his hip, perfect chestnut hair flowing like he was in a shampoo commercial. “You <i>met</i> him? Your godly parent?”</p>
<p>Kuroo bristled. “Yes.”</p>
<p>“And we’re just supposed to take your word for it, then?”</p>
<p>“Oikawa,” Iwaizumi groaned from the Hephaestus table.</p>
<p>“Here we go again.” Daishou snickered to himself and Tsukishima barely stopped himself from elbowing his brother in the ribs.</p>
<p>There were squabbles like this in the dining pavilion all the time, with people from different cabins shouting across the way at each other, sometimes even throwing food, but this didn’t feel like that. It didn’t feel like a good time to laugh, because Kuroo Tetsurou had a storm brewing on his face.</p>
<p>“I’m just saying,” Oikawa threw his hands up defensively. “We don’t let any other unclaimed demigod that comes through choose their cabin, so why should he get to without any proof?”</p>
<p>Though his delivery left room for improvement, Oikawa was undeniably right. Demigods usually didn’t even know who their Godly parent was until they were officially claimed. It was a whole ordeal, some kids waited their whole life for it. For the glowing symbol of their parent to appear over their head. To finally know where they belong.</p>
<p>“Toruu,” Chiron said firmly. “I can assure you that in my own best judgement, I believe that - “</p>
<p>“Proof?” Kuroo spat, his hands clenching into dangerous fists. Tsukishima felt the blood in his veins run ice cold. In fact, the entire dining pavilion seemed to drop twenty degrees. “How’s this for proof, pretty boy?”</p>
<p>Oikawa’s jaw dropped indignantly, but before a word of protest could come out of his mouth, there was a horrible, grinding sound. Like a chainsaw trying to cut through concrete. Like marble cracking in half.</p>
<p>And sure enough, the ground of the pavilion, right below Kuroo Tetsurou’s feet, crumbled open into a dark black abyss. Someone who might have been Yachi over at the Apollo table screamed when boney white fingers started to claw their way out of the darkness.</p>
<p>Tsukishima wasn’t even embarrassed when he instinctively clutched at the back of Sugawara’s shirt, hiding almost his entire body behind his older brother.</p>
<p>Kuroo was another child of the Big Three - but not like one they’d ever had before.</p>
<p>
  <i>Hades.</i>
</p>
<p>The whisper traveled through the pavilion like crashing waves. Oikawa fell with his mouth agape in shock back into his seat. Tendou from the Ares cabin was eyeing Kuroo like he was going to be his next meal. Over at the Hypnos table, even Kenma blinked himself awake at the spectacle.</p>
<p>It was terrifying to watch, but impossible to look away. Horrible and beautiful, like you were being tempted by Medusa to take just a little peek.</p>
<p>“That’s enough!”</p>
<p>At Chiron’s booming command, Kuroo un-balled his fists and the skeletal hands retreated back into the darkness. The ground sealed itself up beneath him like nothing had ever happened at all. He scowled and shoved his hands back into his pockets, eyeing everyone with a dare written clearly across his face.</p>
<p>
  <i>Anyone else got something to say?</i>
</p>
<p>“Well,” one of Tsukishima’s siblings said quietly from behind him. “You don’t see that every day.”</p>
<p>“No,” Tsukishima Kei, who had seen everything there was to see at Camp Half Blood before that day, agreed. “No, you don’t.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>*</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Dinner went on, though a bit more tense than usual.</p>
<p>Kyoutani and Daichi at the Ares table still arm wrestled until they broke a few plates, and Shirabu at the Aphrodite table still threw the angriest, most aggressive love charms known to demigod at Semi Eita over at the Apollo table. </p>
<p>Lev pelted food at the back of Koganegawa’s head, usually missing and hitting Yaku instead, resulting in both Hephaestus brothers turning on the son of Hermes with some mini super-canon filled with chicken nuggets. </p>
<p>The Dionysus kids chugged as much soda as they could and had super loud burping contests, which their cabin leader Terushima always won, and Tsukishima himself listened to Sugawara excitedly telling him about the latest bit of ancient Greek history he’d read up on.</p>
<p>Everything was the same, but everything was totally different.</p>
<p>Because sitting there, at the Big Three table, was a dangerous and mysterious stranger.</p>
<p>“You should go introduce yourself.”</p>
<p>“What?” Tsukishima looked back at Sugawara in surprise. The older boy just gave him a knowing smile.</p>
<p>“You’ve been staring at him all night and not listening to a word I’ve said. I know you, Tsukishima Kei, better than almost anyone. You can’t stand a mystery or a puzzle that you don’t know the answer to.”</p>
<p>Tsukishima felt his ears heat up. That must be it, right? The reason he couldn’t stop thinking about Kuroo Tetsurou, son of <i>Hades.</i> Tsukishima didn’t understand him, and he hated not understanding things. It was genetic.</p>
<p>“I wasn’t staring,” Tsukishima pouted. “And I don’t care.”</p>
<p>Sugawara poked him in the center of the forehead playfully. “You’re a terrible liar, Kei,” he teased. Then, added more seriously. “He looks lonely over there, doesn’t he?”</p>
<p>Tsukishima refused to acknowledge the way his chest clenched painfully.</p>
<p>“If he’s so lonely, he can just summon a few skeletons to sit with him.”</p>
<p>“Kei.” Sugawara gave him a disapproving look. Tsukishima sighed heavily. Gods, there was nothing he hated more than disappointing his older brother.</p>
<p>“Bokuto and Sakusa will be back soon, and then he won’t be alone anymore,” he tried. The weather was starting to get warmer, which meant that all of the part-timers were finishing up with school and starting their summer breaks soon.</p>
<p>“Speaking of coming back soon, you’ve been talking to Akaashi, right? When does he get out of school?”</p>
<p>A genuine, toothy smile overtook Tsukishima’s features. “Only two more weeks!”</p>
<p>Sugawara clutched his heart dramatically. “I knew he was your favorite brother.”</p>
<p>“I don’t have a favorite brother.”</p>
<p>“You’re a terrible liar, Kei.” Sugawara winked.</p>
<p>Tsukishima grinned back at him, but they both knew it was no lie. He loved all of his siblings with as much of his thirteen-year-old heart as he could. He even loved Daishou, that annoying jerk.</p>
<p>“So?”</p>
<p>“So what?” Tsukishima parroted.</p>
<p>“Are you gonna go talk to him?”</p>
<p>Tsukishima’s stomach dropped. For a second there, he had almost forgotten.</p>
<p>“Nope.”</p>
<p>“If it were you in his shoes, wouldn’t you want someone to come talk to you?” Sugawara frowned, and Tsukishima hated the way he was succeeding at tugging at his heartstrings. “I overheard Chiron saying he’d been through a lot. I think a friendly face would really make him feel better.”</p>
<p>Tsukishima groaned and Sugawara beamed like he already knew he had won the argument. Godsdamnit. Tsukishima scowled at him, and got his cheeks pinched for the effort.</p>
<p>“That’s not a very friendly face, Kei! Put on that sweet little smile of yours and go make a friend, would you?”</p>
<p>“I have friends!” Tsukishima protested, rubbing his sore cheeks.</p>
<p>“You have one friend,” Sugawara corrected. “Actually, Yamaguchi doesn’t even count anymore. He’s more like your extra limb, or something.”</p>
<p>And with that, he shooed Tsukishima right off the bench.</p>
<p>With each step he took towards the Big Three table at the head of the dining pavilion, Tsukishima felt more and more campers’ eyes on him. He was never comfortable with too much attention in general, but this moment felt monumentally more embarrassing for some reason. Like he was potentially facing some kind of rejection or something.</p>
<p>Which he kind of was. What if Kuroo Tetsurou laughed in his face? Didn’t want to be his friend? Tsukishima would be humiliated in front of the entire camp.</p>
<p>He turned back to his table with pleading eyes, but Sugawara just gave him an encouraging thumbs up. So it wasn’t really optional anymore.</p>
<p>“Um,” Tsukishima cleared his throat as he approached, just in case he accidentally startled the son of Hades and ended up falling into a giant chasm of despair. Slowly, Kuroo lifted his head and shot Tsukishima through the heart with two golden bullets. “Hi.”</p>
<p>“Hello,” Kuroo said. His eyes darted around, on high alert. Now that he was closer, Tsukishima could also see dark bruised rings under his eyes.</p>
<p>
  <i>I overheard Chiron saying he’d been through a lot.</i>
</p>
<p>Tsukishima couldn’t help but wonder…</p>
<p>He stuck out his hand before he could back out, thrusting it right in Kuroo’s face.</p>
<p>“I’m Tsukishima Kei, from the Athena cabin.”</p>
<p>Kuroo blinked at him a few times, before cautiously taking Tsukishima’s pale, slender hand into his own much larger, much broader and tanner hand. He had scars and callouses that didn’t come from games of capture the flag.</p>
<p>“Kuroo.” </p>
<p>He didn’t say who his parent was.</p>
<p>Then, he suddenly cocked his head to the side, squinting up at Tsukishima like he was direct sunlight.</p>
<p>“You’re hard for me to look at,” Kuroo Tetsurou, son of Hades, declared, promptly grinding any and all self-confidence Tsukishima had in himself before that moment into dust.</p>
<p>“I - What?” Tsukishima gaped, feeling like a giant chasm of despair really <i>had</i> just opened up beneath his feet.</p>
<p>Before Kuroo could elaborate - not that Tsukishima was sure he really wanted him to - Chiron was clapping his hands together and loudly asking that all campers return to their tables for the end of dinner announcements.</p>
<p>Tsukishima walked back to the Athena table, feeling like the undead.</p>
<p>“Well,” Sugawara nudged him. “How did it go? Is Kuroo nice?”</p>
<p>“I hate him.”</p>
<p>“Oh, dear.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>*</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tsukishima should have known that wouldn’t be the end of it.</p>
<p>He fumed all through dinner last night, chewing his food a little too aggressively and drinking so much Sprite, that Sugawara eventually cut him off. He didn’t care what Kuroo thought about him. He didn’t care at all the the strangest, most wonderful thing he had ever laid eyes on thought he was an eyesore. A blemish on the face of the Earth. A plague of the senses.</p>
<p>Well, maybe he hadn’t said <i>all</i> of that, but Tsukishima was getting pretty good at reading between the lines. </p>
<p>Kuroo Tetsurou didn’t like him, and that was fine. Tsukishima never really wanted to be his friend anyways. Sugawara <i>made</i> him do it!</p>
<p>So really, Tsukishima was perfectly fine with spending the rest of his life never talking to stupid Kuroo ever again.</p>
<p>Of course, that’s not how his life would go. Because he was a demigod, and when was his life ever easy?</p>
<p>“Chiron’s looking for you.” Kageyama delivered the message in clipped, even syllables. Tsukishima wasn’t the guy’s biggest fan, but he did appreciate this much about the son of Ares: He was sparing with words.</p>
<p>“Ooooh,” his cabin-mates chorused. “You’re in trouble!”</p>
<p>Tsukishima lifted his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Despite being one of the youngest campers here for most of his life, he sometimes felt like he was surrounded by children.</p>
<p>“Big House?” He asked Kageyama. It was where Chiron could usually be found. The other boy gave a simple nod of his head, thus signaling the end of their conversation, and his interest in talking to Tsukishima. He walked away without another word, and that suited Tsukishima just fine.</p>
<p>The entire walk to the Big House, his stomach turned back and forth with nerves. He <i>wasn’t</i> in trouble, was he? Mentally, Tsukishima reviewed everything he’d done in recent memory that could warrant punishment. There were a few minor rules broken - he was thirteen, after all - but nothing bad enough that the camp director himself would have to speak to him about it.</p>
<p>He’d just have to wait and see what Chiron wanted when he got there.</p>
<p>“Kei,” Chiron greeted him, and something about his smile made Tsukishima already dread the next words that were going to come out of his mouth.</p>
<p>Or maybe it was the fact that on his way in, he passed by none other than Kuroo Tetsurou, Lord of Darkness and Monochromatic Fashion himself, sitting on the steps up to the Big House. He was pouting - sulking, maybe - with his knees pulled to his chest and his eyes glaring holes into his black combat boots. He didn’t even look up when Tsukishima passed him.</p>
<p>“Kageyama said you were looking for me. Did I do something wrong?”</p>
<p>Chiron laughed, and it still did nothing to ease Tsukishima’s nerves. “Is that all you kids associate me with these days? Law and order? Crime and punishment?”</p>
<p>“No, sir.” Tsukishima shook his head quickly. Chiron was the closest thing to a father figure that Tsukishima had for most of his life. He didn’t want the old centaur to start thinking otherwise. “I guess you could have just been inviting me over to play chess.” It wouldn’t have been very surprising, they played together often, but… “I had a feeling it was something more.”</p>
<p>Chiron smiled fondly at him. “Your instincts are as sharp as ever, my boy. You’re not in any trouble, but I do have a favor to ask of you.”</p>
<p>“A favor?” Tsukishima wasn’t used to adults needing favors from him.</p>
<p>“A big one,” Chiron nodded sagely. “Am I mistaken, or did I see you talking with Kuroo Tetsurou at dinner last night?”</p>
<p>Tsukishima felt ghost flames of humiliation crawling up his neck.</p>
<p>“I was,” he admitted through gritted teeth. “But it wasn’t really - I mean, we were just - “</p>
<p>“I need someone to show him around today. Let him shadow you, teach him how things work. He doesn’t have any cabin-mates to follow, so I was hoping you’d be willing to do it.”</p>
<p>Tsukishima mentally struck Sugawara with every mildly annoying curse he could think of. This was all his fault.</p>
<p>“Sir, it’s not like - I mean, we aren’t friends or anything!” Tsukishima blurted out. Kinda loudly.</p>
<p>Chiron frowned, and oh, this was even worse than Sugawara’s disappointed face.</p>
<p>“You may not be friends now, but who knows? Give it a little time and you’ll see.” Chiron stroked his beard and leaned back in the wheelchair he tucked his horse-half into when he was indoors. “The truth is, Kei, after that display at dinner last night, I’m afraid there’s no one else I can ask. You’re the only person I’ve seen brave enough to approach him. Or kind enough. Take your pick.”</p>
<p>Bravery and kindness had nothing to do with it. Tsukishima was just plain dumb.</p>
<p>Still, he couldn’t help the pang of sympathy he felt for the dirty, dark-haired boy with the thunderstorm face and the precious metal eyes. There was something about him, something sad and bitter that Tsukishima wanted to remove like a tumor. (Ew. He needed to stop spending so much time in the Apollo cabin.) He had just been dropped - literally - into the middle of camp with no sense of belonging. No siblings. No friends.</p>
<p>Just Tsukishima and his agony-inducing face.</p>
<p>Sucking up the last of his pride and letting it go in one big exhale, Tsukishima gave in.</p>
<p>“Fine. I guess I’ll play Death Boy’s babysitter for the day.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>*</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>When Kuroo saw Tsukishima walk out of the Big House, his expression got suspiciously brighter.</p>
<p>“You’re the person who’s gonna show me around today, huh?”</p>
<p>“Lucky you,” Tsukishima deadpanned. For some reason, that made Kuroo laugh.</p>
<p>It didn’t sound cruel or sadistic, like he couldn’t wait for more opportunities to insult Tsukishima. It sounded, actually… Kind of nice. Like crunching gravel on a backroad.</p>
<p>But Tsukishima knew appearances could be deceiving. Kuroo was probably just trying to get him to lower his guard.</p>
<p>Kuroo followed him around that day like big black dog. Tsukishima was being stalked by a Hellhound. He knew it was part of Chiron’s orders, but did the guy really have to stand so close? Like, I-can-smell-what-you-had-for-breakfast-on-your-breath close. Every time Tsukishima stopped to show Kuroo something, when he turned to give an explanation, there Kuroo was. Right over his shoulder.</p>
<p>They were right about the same height. Tsukishima only knew this now because Kuroo stood so close to him that sometimes their noses bumped into each other.</p>
<p>It was the weirdest experience of Tsukishima’s life. Kuroo Tetsurou had no Godly idea about personal space. It was starting to get on his nerves.</p>
<p>By the time they made it to the training grounds (after covering the infirmary, the strawberry fields, the stables, and the forges), it was the Ares cabin’s turn to practice their sparring. They were all gathered in a loose group, stretching and passing out wooden swords and shields. When Tendou Satori spotted them, impossibly tall and lanky frame and flaming red hair making him easy to pick out among his siblings, his eyes gleamed and a huge grin spread across his face. Never a good sign. </p>
<p>Tendou was, in Daishou’s words, “one crazy son of a bitch” (he got a stern scolding from Sugawara for saying it, but the point remained). The son of Ares was lethal in battle, and obnoxious as hell in everyday life. However, when Tsukishima first arrived at camp all those years ago, it was surprisingly Tendou who was one of the first people to help him find his way at Camp Half Blood. While pretty much all the older campers pretty much adopted Tsukishima as their collective younger brother from the day he first stepped foot here, Tendou was always especially protective of Tsukishima. It felt like the son of Ares always had one eye on him, and any kids that ever made fun of how scrawny he was or the way his glasses looked, mysteriously ended up with black eyes the next day. People didn’t really mess with Tsukishima these days.</p>
<p>As annoying as he could be, Tendou had a soft heart deep down.</p>
<p>But today? Today, Tsukishima didn’t feel like dealing with Tendou.</p>
<p>“Let’s just keep going.” Tsukishima tried to usher Kuroo along quickly, but was stopped in his tracks by Tendou calling out his name.</p>
<p>“Little Kei Kei!” He taunted, using the same nickname he’d been using since Tsukishima was barely eight years old and couldn’t reach the sink faucets by himself. “Where are you going in such a hurry? You aren’t going to leave the training grounds without giving our new guest a proper demonstration, are you?”</p>
<p>Kuroo’s eyes narrowed, cutting between Tendou and Tsukishima quickly, like a guard dog preparing to attack. Tsukishima sighed and shook his head, signaling that Tendou wasn’t any sort of real threat. Nobody at camp really was, especially not to Tsukishima.</p>
<p>“It’s better to just play along with whatever he wants,” Tsukishima explained, leading Kuroo back towards where Tendou was grinning maniacally in the middle of the arena.</p>
<p>“This is supposed to be <i>our</i> training time,” Goshiki, a younger camper around Tsukishima’s age with a dark bowl cut and the most hot-and-cold emotions he had ever met, complained to their cabin leader, Daichi. </p>
<p>Daichi was at least a head shorter than Tendou, but built much more sturdily. He also had a much more level head on his shoulders, which is why despite being the same age, the Ares kids chose Daichi as their leader. Tsukishima hasn’t actually spoken to Daichi many times, but he knows all about how great he is from how much Sugawara tells him. They were very close friends, apparently.</p>
<p>“Hurry it up, Tendou,” Daichi called. His voice was stern and left no room for argument.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry,” Tendou’s teeth flashed white and wicked. “This will all be over in a second.”</p>
<p>If Tsukishima didn’t know him better, he might have been terrified right now. He could feel Kuroo tensing up beside him, like he was getting ready for a life or death battle rather than a sparring session with wooden swords. Tsukishima frowned and tried to position himself as casually as possible between Kuroo and Tendou. He wasn’t sure who he was trying to protect from who.</p>
<p>“Just give us your stupid demonstration so you can show off or whatever, we want to leave.” Tsukishima rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. Tendou’s smile only grew.</p>
<p>“But I can’t give my demonstration without you!”</p>
<p>Tsukishima groaned. “No way, Tendou, not happening. I’m not sparring with you.”</p>
<p>“But Little Kei Kei, you haven’t sparred me in so long!” Tendou pouted.</p>
<p>“Because last time we sparred you made me eat dirt, you jerk!”</p>
<p>“Come on,” Tendou coaxed, eyes sliding over to Kuroo. “Don’t you want to give your new little friend the best tour you possibly can?”</p>
<p>“You don’t have to,” Kuroo said quietly behind him.</p>
<p>For some reason, those few quiet words were what spurred Tsukishima’s feet into gear. He didn’t need Kuroo feeling bad for him or thinking he was weak.</p>
<p>“Grab me a sword and shield,” he barked in Goshiki’s general direction. The Ares boy muttered something about not being Tsukishima’s “eunuch”, but went to do it anyways. Tsukishima didn’t know what that word meant, but Kyoutani smacked his little brother on the back of the head when he heard him say it.</p>
<p>Tsukishima wasn’t a bad fighter. He was, as many of the campers who trained him over the years described, “exceptionally decent” at it. He wasn’t the strongest kid at camp, nor was he the toughest or even the best with weapons, but he had some of the best instincts. He had been training much longer than even some of the kids years older than him. Undoubtably, though, his strongest weapon was his mind.</p>
<p>Child of Athena, and all.</p>
<p>As he and Tendou circled each other, sizing each other up with wooden swords in hand, Tsukishima’s exceptionally brilliant mind told him one, very obvious thing: He couldn’t win this fight.</p>
<p>If Tendou were a real enemy that Tsukishima was facing in battle, he would be smart enough to turn tail and run, or at least cause some kind of distraction so he could get away. Tendou was bigger than Tsukishima, faster and stronger, more well-acquainted with a weapon in his hand. Plus, he had the insatiable blood-lust and drive to win that only a child of Ares could posses.</p>
<p>In short, Tsukishima was about to get his ass handed to him.</p>
<p>He glanced over at Kuroo out of the corner of his eye, and from the wary expression on his face, the other boy had come to the same conclusion.</p>
<p>“Eyes on me, Kei Kei,” Tendou taunted, jabbing Tsukishima playfully on his exposed shoulder. Tsukishima tried to hide his wince as he turned his eyes back on his opponent, raising his shield a little higher.</p>
<p>That was the thing about wooden weapons - They weren’t very likely to kill you, but they still hurt like a bitch.</p>
<p>“You’re a real pain in the ass, you know that?” Tsukishima huffed, barely blocking Tendou’s sword the next time it came arcing towards him. Tendou’s eyes opened comically wide.</p>
<p>“Such language! Who taught you to talk like that?”</p>
<p>Even as he rolled to dodge another attack, Tsukishima couldn’t help but grin. Tendou knew perfectly well that the first person to teach him how to curse was the son of Ares himself.</p>
<p>After a few more minutes of dancing around each other, their moves started to get increasingly faster and more forceful. Tsukishima knew that Tendou had been holding back on him at first, but he wasn’t anymore. He grunted as his shield was knocked back into his gut, forcing the wind out of his lungs. Tendou’s eyes flashed hungrily, and Tsukishima staggered back a few steps when his shield was met with Tendou’s sword again, then again, and a third time.</p>
<p>Tsukishima didn’t care about winning this fight. He almost never did. But for some reason (not Kuroo Tetsurou, obviously) he wanted to get at least <i>one</i> good hit in. One move that he could be proud of. The gears in his brain started turning.</p>
<p>The next time Tendou lunged to attack, Tsukishima stepped in closer to meet it. The older boy’s eyes widened in surprise. Tsukishima wasn’t known for offensive moves.</p>
<p>“Getting bold there, aren’t we, Kei Kei?”</p>
<p>“Just trying to get this over with.”</p>
<p>Tendou laughed, and sometimes when he laughed it was hard to believe he was the same person that tore a rogue Hellhound limb from limb when it broke past the barrier and almost killed a few campers.</p>
<p>“You wanna end this?” The son of Ares asked with a crazed grin.</p>
<p>“Yes!” Goshiki groaned from the sidelines. “Just wrap it up already!”</p>
<p>Tendou flipped him the middle finger without taking his eyes of Tsukishima. Then, he threw down his shield with a maniacal glint in his eyes. Tsukishima grinned to himself behind his own shield. Tendou was playing right into his plan.</p>
<p>This time when Tendou rushed him, Tsukishima let himself be tackled to the ground. There were a tangle of long limbs and wooden swords until Tendou wrestled Tsukishima’s shield out of his hands and pinned him down by sitting on his chest. The red-haired boy crowed victoriously, sword pointed at Tsukishima’s neck.</p>
<p>“Any final words, valiant warrior?” Tendou asked in an overly dramatic voice.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Tsukishima grinned, making Tendou’s smile waver. “Never hesitate.” And then, he smacked Tendou right in the center of the face with the flat of his sword.</p>
<p>“OWWWW!” Tendou howled, grabbing his nose. “You li’l shi’!”</p>
<p>All of the Ares kids laughed and Tsukishima was pleased to find that even Kuroo was smiling a little at the display. If there was one thing weakness Tendou Satori had in battle, it was his pride and flair for dramatics, which Tsukishima wasn’t afraid to exploit.</p>
<p>Tsukishima tried to scramble quickly to his feet while Tendou was distracted by the stinging in his face, but a hand locked around his ankle and dragged him back to the ground, this time on his stomach with his arms pinned behind his back.</p>
<p>“That wasn’t playing very nice, Kei Kei!” Tendou chastised, knee pressing firmly into the center of his back. Tsukishima groaned and let his body go slack. He knew when he was bested, and it was futile to keep fighting at that point.</p>
<p>“Get off,” he whined. “You’re too heavy.” His lungs were quietly starting to protest the position, and his glasses were pressing into his face uncomfortably.</p>
<p>“Say I’m the best fighter in the whole entire camp,” Tendou sing-songed.</p>
<p>“Off,” Tsukishima groaned again.</p>
<p>“Say it! Say, Tendou Satori, you are the strongest warrior since Achilles - no! Even stronger than Achilles! Say it, Kei Kei, or you’re sleeping in the ground with the worms tonight.”</p>
<p>“Not on your life, weirdo!”</p>
<p>“Come on, Little - “</p>
<p>Before Tendou could finish his sentence, he was yelping in surprise and his weight was suddenly gone from Tsukishima’s back. Kuroo had picked up one of their discarded swords, and was now pointing it right under Tendou’s chin, close enough to dimple the skin there. One of Tendou’s hands was pressed against his sternum, and his eyes blazed like his father’s.</p>
<p>“He said ‘get off’,” Kuroo growled in a low, threatening voice, rumbling like thunder.</p>
<p>Woah. Okay then.</p>
<p>“What the hell is your problem, man!” Tendou grabbed the sword and thrust it away from his face. “We were just playing around! I would never really hurt Kei!” Suddenly, the rage on his face was replaced with confusion. Something almost a little gentle. “Hey, dude, are you okay?”</p>
<p>Tsukishima didn’t know what had caused Tendou’s sudden change in demeanor, but then he noticed Kuroo’s hand trembling violently, clutching at the hilt of the sword like it was a lifeline. In fact, his entire body was trembling.</p>
<p>Ignoring the aching in his bones, Tsukishima shot to his feet, rushing to Kuroo’s side. “He’s fine,” Tsukishima assured Tendou quickly. The last thing they needed after the stunt Kuroo pulled at dinner last night was for him to give everyone <i>another</i> reason to be wary of him. He wasn’t going to make any friends that way. Tsukishima gently pried Kuroo’s fingers from the sword, watching his reaction carefully. “You’re fine, right?” He asked more quietly. Numbly, Kuroo nodded, letting Tsukishima take the weapon from him.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I’m…” Kuroo’s voice failed. His eyes were somewhere faraway. Haunted.</p>
<p>Tsukishima had seen that look before.</p>
<p>“Let’s go,” he urged, putting a hand on Kuroo’s shoulder before he could even thing about the action. Kuroo didn’t shrug him off though, just let Tsukishima lead him away. Tendou raised a hand in a confused wave goodbye, while the other Ares kids watched them carefully, murmuring amongst themselves. Tsukishima felt oddly protective of Kuroo in that moment.</p>
<p>Kuroo didn’t talk again until they were sitting by the lake, side by side, but not so close that an inch of them was touching.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry.” He sounded miserable and worn out, his head hung low. “I don’t know what happened. It was like I was…somewhere else.”</p>
<p>“PTSD,” Tsukishima nodded in agreement. Kuroo looked up at him, face scrunched in confusion.</p>
<p>“What?”</p>
<p>“I’ve seen tons of campers come back from quests and act the same way you just did. After living through something really scary, sometimes your brain forgets that it’s over. Like, when campers go out and fight monsters, when they come back to camp, they still feel like there are monsters everywhere. That’s how Akaashi explained it to me, at least, and he’s the smartest person at camp.”</p>
<p>Tsukishima picked grass out of the ground while Kuroo processed his words.</p>
<p>“I guess that makes sense,” he said finally.</p>
<p>“You don’t have to be scared here, Kuroo.”</p>
<p>The other boy opened his mouth, then closed it again, settling his chin on his knees and looking out across the water. He looked more at ease than Tsukishima had seen him since he crash-landed in the middle of camp.</p>
<p>“I’ll adjust.”</p>
<p>“You will,” Tsukishima promised. “And if you ever need help, all of us will be here for you. Even if some of us are unpleasant to look at,” he couldn’t help but add with a wry smile. Kuroo’s head snapped up, frowning.</p>
<p>“Who’s unpleasant to look at? <i>You?”</i></p>
<p>“Um, yes?”</p>
<p>“Did somebody say that to you?” Kuroo demanded, anger visibly rising. “Who said that?”</p>
<p>Tsukishima balked. “Uh, you did?”</p>
<p>Kuroo screwed his face up in confusion. “I wouldn’t say that.”</p>
<p>“Except for you did.”</p>
<p>“Did not!”</p>
<p>“Just yesterday at dinner! You told me I was hard to look at.” Tsukishima tried to keep his pout out of his voice, but he thinks he might have failed.</p>
<p>Kuroo blinked at him. “You thought I was calling you ugly?” He asked in a slow, measured voice, like Tsukishima was some dumb kid. It made his defenses rise into place.</p>
<p>“What else is it supposed to mean?” Tsukishima snapped. It didn’t do anything to quell his anger when the corners of Kuroo’s lips started twitching into a smile.</p>
<p>“I didn’t say you were hard to look at. I said it was hard for me to look at you,” Kuroo explained, like that answered anything at all.</p>
<p>“What’s the difference?”</p>
<p>“Tsukki, I just got back from the literal Underworld. You were the brightest thing I had seen in months.”</p>
<p>Tsukishima dropped the blades of grass he had angrily ripped out of the ground and the breeze swept them away. Kuroo just kept looking at him with that valiant smile trying to conquer his lips.</p>
<p>“Oh,” Tsukishima said quietly. He rarely felt shamefully dumb, but in that moment he could feel the flush creeping up his face.</p>
<p>“Oh,” Kuroo agreed. “I find you perfectly neutral to look at.”</p>
<p>“Thanks.”</p>
<p>“You’re welcome.”</p>
<p>“Also, did you just call me ‘Tsukki’?”</p>
<p>Kuroo’s smile finally broke through, his face lighting up in a way that made him almost unrecognizable, and all of Tsukishima’s insides felt like how Kuroo’s eyes looked:</p>
<p>Liquid gold.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>*</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>After getting past their initial miscommunication (which was 500% not Tsukishima’s fault, anyone would have misinterpreted Kuroo’s words in his position), Tsukishima was much less on edge for the rest of the day. Now that he knew Kuroo didn’t dislike him, he wasn’t constantly waiting for the other boy to act cruelly towards him. Now, they could just enjoy themselves.</p>
<p>Tsukishima took Kuroo to the top of the tallest hill in camp and pointed out all his favorite spots, and all the hidden spots that not many people knew about. Kuroo looked honored to be receiving such exclusive information.</p>
<p>“Those down there? All the red dots, do you see them?”</p>
<p>“Yup.”</p>
<p>“Those are the strawberry fields I showed you earlier. They look kind of like roses from up here, don’t they? The strawberry fields are my favorite place at camp, I go there all the time to be by myself and think or read or whatever. You can come with me sometimes, but you have to stay quiet.”</p>
<p>“Okay,” Kuroo agreed with an easy grin.</p>
<p>Below them, some kids from the Aphrodite cabin had laid out towels by the lake and were sunbathing and every once in a while there were bursts of laughter or shrieking, or splashing in the water.</p>
<p>“How old are you?” Kuroo asked, watching as one of the Aphrodite kids threw Shirabu into the water with a grin.</p>
<p>“I’m thirteen.”</p>
<p>“Wow,” Kuroo whistled. Tsukishima was jealous. He still couldn’t whistle. “You’re as tall as me, and I’m already fourteen!”</p>
<p>Tsukishima puffed up with pride. “Suga says I’ll be the tallest person in our cabin pretty soon.”</p>
<p>A flash of hurt crossed Kuroo’s face, and Tsukishima didn't know what he said wrong but he immediately wanted to take it back.</p>
<p>Oh. Of course. Tsukishima was so <i>stupid</i> today.</p>
<p>Kuroo was already the tallest person in his cabin. And the shortest. And the youngest. And the oldest. And he probably always would be. He was alone.</p>
<p>“Hey, Kuroo,” Tsukishima asked carefully.</p>
<p>“Yeah?”</p>
<p>“How did you get here?”</p>
<p>Kuroo let out a harsh bark of laughter. “You already know, don’t you? It was kinda hard to miss.”</p>
<p>Tsukishima shook his head. “Everyone said you fell out of the sky.”</p>
<p>“I did. Well, kinda. I actually fell out of a tree.”</p>
<p>“But how?”</p>
<p>“How did you get here?” Kuroo shot back.</p>
<p>“My dad dropped me off when I was six years old.”</p>
<p>Kuroo inhaled sharply, turning his face to look at Tsukishima, and he didn’t have any problem meeting the older boy’s eyes. He’d told this story at least a hundred times by now. It didn’t affect him much anymore.</p>
<p>“But - Don’t demigods not even start attracting monsters until they’re at least seven? And that’s only if they’re, like, crazy strong?”</p>
<p>“Which I’m clearly not,” Tsukishima shrugged.</p>
<p>“That’s not what I - “</p>
<p>“No, it’s okay. It’s the truth. I’m just a regular old son of Athena. Not a child of the Big Three, not someone with incredible power. Just me.”</p>
<p>“So then why…?” Kuroo didn’t seem to want to say the words.</p>
<p>“Why so young?” Tsukishima grinned wryly. “My dad didn’t bring me here because I was attracting monsters. I wasn’t really dangerous at all. I was just like a regular kid, basically. But my dad traveled a lot for his job, and even a regular kid was just too much of a burden for him. He didn’t bring me here because he had to, he brought me here to get rid of me.”</p>
<p>The sympathy in Kuroo’s eyes made Tsukishima want to vomit. “I’m so- “</p>
<p>“Don’t say you’re sorry for me, because I’m not,” Tsukishima cut him off sharply. “I like my life here. Camp Half Blood is my home and these people are my family, and if I was given the choice to do it all over again, I’d still want to end up right here, just like this.”</p>
<p>Kuroo nodded slowly. “You must have been the youngest camper to ever come here,” he noted.</p>
<p>“Almost.” This time, Tsukishima did have to look away from Kuroo’s eyes. This story was always harder for him to tell, and it wasn’t even his own. “The only person who came here younger than me was Oikawa. He was still really young, but he was already attracting…unwanted attention. He’s got strong genes for a child of Aphrodite.”</p>
<p>“Shit,” Kuroo breathed. Tsukishima felt so sick, like he did every time he thought about Oikawa’s childhood, that he wasn’t even impressed by the older boy’s cursing. </p>
<p>He spotted Oikawa down at the lake below them, the unearthly beautiful boy glistening in the sunlight. The mermaids splashed water onto Futakuchi, leaving the boy’s perfectly silky brown hair plastered to his forehead, and Oikawa’s breathy laugh carried on the breeze like wind chimes. Tsukishima would never admit it out loud, but he always sort of looked up to Oikawa. The son of Aphrodite didn’t remember a lot about his life before coming to camp, but he never once let himself be a victim. He didn’t act like one, or carry himself like one. He was proud. You’d never guess what he’d been through just by looking at him.</p>
<p>“Your turn,” Tsukishima said, eager to change the subject. There was no use dwelling on horrible things of the past if they couldn’t be changed. That’s what Akaashi always told him.</p>
<p>“Huh?”</p>
<p>“I told you how I got here, now you tell me.”</p>
<p>“It’s not a very nice story.”</p>
<p>“None of them are.”</p>
<p>Kuroo cracked another smile, but weaker this time. “I don’t want you to pity me or look at me any different.”</p>
<p>“We don’t really do ‘pity’ around here.”</p>
<p>It was the truth. Everyone at camp had been though one trauma or another - they had to get the name “Greek Tragedy” from somewhere, after all. But Tsukishima had a feeling that Kuroo had been through something spectacularly horrible. He hoped he wasn’t making a mistake by prying like this.</p>
<p>“My mom died,” was what Kuroo chose to open with. “Leukemia. My older sister, Mina, and I were going to be put in the system. Taken into homes, and probably split apart. Mina thought that - well, since Hades had loved our mom enough to come back and have a second child with her, if we went down to the Underworld and found her, that maybe he would - would bring her back.”</p>
<p>Tsukishima bit his tongue. Telling Kuroo that it didn’t work like that wouldn’t do him any good now.</p>
<p>“We barely even made it to California when we started getting attacked,” Kuroo said. The entrance to the Underworld was in Los Angeles - they must have been so close. His hands were shaking where they laid on his knees, and Tsukishima covered one of them with his own. “I guess we never even realized it, but our mom must have been doing something to protect us all that time. Maybe Hades was helping her, I don’t know. But the second we left home, it was like our scents were being projected directly to every monster in a one hundred-mile radius.”</p>
<p>“Children of the Big Three always attract more powerful monsters,” Tsukishima said quietly.</p>
<p>“Mina and I didn’t know. We had been so carefully hidden without even realizing it our entire lives, we had never even faced a single monster before.”</p>
<p>“But you fight so well?” Tsukishima couldn’t help but jump in. Kuroo had immense power, and more control over it than Tsukishima had ever seen from a camper their age. Plus, all those scars…</p>
<p>Kuroo gave him a hollow smile. “I had to learn on the fly.”</p>
<p>Tsukishima can’t even imagine it. Most demigods spend their entire lives in camps, training and training for the mere possibility that they may have to fight a monster one day. To just be attacked by so many of them, with no prior knowledge or training, and to survive…</p>
<p>Kuroo Tetsurou was a miracle.</p>
<p>“So… Did you make it to the Underworld? You said that’s where you were for months?”</p>
<p>A strong breeze pushed back Kuroo’s bangs so that Tsukishima could easily see the tears starting to pool in his eyes. “I made it to the Underworld. Mina didn’t.”</p>
<p>Tsukishima caught his breath and squeezed Kuroo’s hand tightly. He didn’t pity Kuroo, but he empathized with him. Nearly everyone at camp had lost at least one sibling, and it was never pretty. Suddenly, the fact that Kuroo stuck so closely to Tsukishima all day, and how quickly and savagely he had jumped to Tsukishima’s defense when he thought he was in danger made a lot of sense. The last person who stood by Kuroo’s side was killed right in front of him.</p>
<p>“Monsters?” Tsukishima whispered.</p>
<p>Kuroo nodded, and didn’t elaborate. Tsukishima didn’t ask him to.</p>
<p>“I made it to the Underworld alone. So many times, I - I just wanted to give up. To lay down and stop trying, let the next monster I crossed paths with just end it all. But something kept pushing me. I don’t know if it was my dad, or what, but every day I just kept getting up and fighting, and fighting, and fighting.”</p>
<p>“I’m glad you did,” Tsukishima said honestly. Kuroo gave him a watery smile.</p>
<p>“I… I think I am, too.”</p>
<p>“What happened in the Underworld?”</p>
<p>“Got lost.” Kuroo laughs self-depreciatively. “Honestly, not a single monster attacked me, because I was a son of Hades, I guess, but they weren’t very helpful with directions, either. I wandered around for so long, just trying to find my mom or my sister, or even Hades himself, but Gods, is it big down there. And confusing. I nearly lost my mind. Finally, I just prayed to him. My dad. I just begged him to do something, anything to make it end. I thought he’d let me die, but instead he dropped me here.”</p>
<p>“From the sky.”</p>
<p>“Shadow travel,” Kuroo explained with a small smirk. “I’ll be able to do it myself one day, I think. Just gotta keep practicing.”</p>
<p>“You said you met him? Hades?” Tsukishima asked, remembering the bold declaration Kuroo had made at dinner last night.</p>
<p>“Oh,” Kuroo scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, I did, but not like, in person. It was in a dream, but I kinda wanna keep that part to myself.”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Tsukishima nodded, trying not to take it personally. “I get it. That’s a private thing between you and your dad.”</p>
<p>“Exactly.” Kuroo sounded relieved, like he really was worried that Tsukishima would be offended. He wasn’t and he smiled reassuringly to make sure Kuroo knew. Kuroo smiled back, and they settled into a comfortable silence, hands still overlapped between them.</p>
<p>Tsukishima didn’t know exactly what happened up on that hill that day, how he had suddenly felt one of the strongest bonds of his young life with a complete stranger. It was like they had both picked their scabs open and made them bleed again to help each other heal a little easier. </p>
<p>They sat there together a little longer, letting their wounds air out until the sun started to go down.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>*</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’ll see you at dinner?” Tsukishima offered as he and Kuroo parted ways that evening. Kuroo’s face scrunched up like he’d tasted something sour.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I’ll wave at you from my lonely, sacrificial altar.”</p>
<p>“The sacrificial altar is the big one in the middle, actually.”</p>
<p>Kuroo rolled his eyes. “Okay, Smarty Pants.”</p>
<p>“Child of Athena,” Tsukishima retorted, and Kuroo’s face slipped into a grin.</p>
<p>“Okay, Child of Athena,” he corrected. They started walking in opposite directions towards their cabins, but Tsukishima couldn’t get the memory of Kuroo, a dark smudge hunched over at the Big Three table by himself, out of his mind.</p>
<p>“Hey,” Tsukishima stopped and turned back. Kuroo stopped, too. “I can, uh, ask Chiron if you can sit at the Athena table? You know, just until Bokuto and Sakusa get back. They’re children of the Big Three, too, so you wouldn’t be alone. But just, until then, if you wanted to…” he trailed off, not sure why his face felt so hot.</p>
<p>“Do you think he’d let me?” Kuroo asked, a hopeful lilt to his voice.</p>
<p>Tsukishima had no doubt that Chiron would be thrilled to let Kuroo sit at the Athena table with them. In the spirit of camp bonding, and all that.</p>
<p>“It can’t hurt to ask.”</p>
<p>“Okay.” Kuroo’s face broke into a real, genuine smile. “Thanks, Tsukki. I’m really glad we’re friends.”</p>
<p>And then the son of Hades practically skipped away, blissfully unaware of the way his words made Tsukishima’s stomach flip and roll like he was falling through the sky without wings.</p>
<p><i>Icarus.</i> That was the story Sugawara was telling him last night.</p>
<p>Tsukishima felt like Icarus.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>*</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Akaashi came back to camp two weeks later, just like he promised he would, and Tsukishima felt another piece of his life slide perfectly into place.</p>
<p>He was taller than he was last summer, and his dark hair was a little longer, but his smile was the same and so was the fondness in his eyes when he spotted Tsukishima sprinting towards him, dropping his duffel bag so he could catch him in a bear hug.</p>
<p>“Hey, Kei.” Akaashi stepped back, putting him down and giving him a quick once over, like he was checking for any major changes or injuries. A doting habit both he and Sugawara shared. “Did you get taller?”</p>
<p>Tsukishima beamed. “Suga says that - “ </p>
<p>He was abruptly cut off by a very familiar shout.</p>
<p>“Hey, hey, hey! You miss us, Tsukki? Huh, Tsukki, did ya?” Bokuto wrapped both Tsukishima and Akaashi into his beefy arms, lifting their feet off the ground. “I sure missed you!”</p>
<p>Tsukishima groaned, feeling a few joints in his back crack with the force of Bokuto’s hug. It was almost as if he sometimes forgot that he was the son of Zeus, and thus strong enough to break pretty much anyone’s spine in half if he felt like it. Tsukishima wasn’t sure how he could forget who he was though, when his hair constantly made it look like he had just been struck by lightning, with the way the silver strands stuck straight up into the air.</p>
<p>Bokuto and Akaashi were from the same area, and even went to the same school. They always left and came back to camp together. Actually, they did pretty much everything together. It took a while for Tsukishima to get used to, since he had grown up so accustomed to having all of Akaashi’s attention on him when they hung out. But one fall, after Akaashi left for school, he wrote back to Tsukishima with letters about a boy he met who he thought might be a demigod, like them. The next summer he showed up with Bokuto Koutarou in tow, and it kind of just stayed that way. Wherever Akaashi went, Bokuto was never far behind.</p>
<p>(Tsukishima would never admit that Bokuto had kind of grown on him. Might even be one of his Top Five Favorite People. He would never admit it, but he was pretty sure Bokuto already knew anyways, which just made it twice as annoying.)</p>
<p>“I missed <i>Akaashi,”</i> Tsukishima grumbled when Bokuto finally released him. Bokuto just laughed and ruffled Tsukishima’s hair affectionately.</p>
<p>“Man, I missed this place! I’m gonna go drop off my bags real quick, and then you gotta tell us everything that happened while we were at school, okay?”</p>
<p>They spent the rest of the afternoon like that, with Tsukishima and Bokuto sitting on his bunk cross-legged together while Akaashi unpacked. Tsukishima talked the most, words spewing out of him like a leaky faucet as one story turned into another and another. Some of the stories were just told in fragments, as he got distracted by tangents that he suddenly remembered, but neither of the older boys seemed to mind. Bokuto pitched in enthusiastically with commentary, or his own stories from his and Akaashi’s school, while Akaashi just nodded and hummed in all the right places to show he was paying attention.</p>
<p>“Oh!” Tsukishima exclaimed. He wasn’t sure how he had forgotten to mention this already. “There’s a new camper who’s a child of one of the Big Three!”</p>
<p>Bokuto’s jaw dropped. “No way! Who are they? Who’s their dad? I didn’t see anybody else’s stuff in my cabin, so it must be - “</p>
<p>“Hades.”</p>
<p>Akaashi’s shut his drawer a little too sharply, the sound echoing in the cabin. Tsukishima shrank a little when his brother turned his intense, dark eyes on him.</p>
<p>“Come again?”</p>
<p>“His name is Kuroo. Kuroo Tetsurou. And his dad… Is Hades?” Tsukishima shrugged meekly. Bokuto still hadn’t picked his jaw up off the ground.</p>
<p>“Hm.” Was all Akaashi said, before he turned back to his unpacking like nothing had happened.</p>
<p>“Is something wrong?” Tsukishima asked hesitantly.</p>
<p>“No, nothing.” Akaashi shook his head. “It’s just unusual. I’ve never seen a child of Hades in the camp’s records before.”</p>
<p>“You’ve read the camp’s records? Like, all of them?” Bokuto gaped.</p>
<p>Akaashi shrugged. “A few times. Helps me sleep.”</p>
<p>“What a nerd,” Bokuto breathed, but it didn’t sound like an insult. Bokuto probably couldn’t insult Akaashi if he wanted to, almost everything he said to him was always in that same awestruck voice. Tsukishima didn’t get it. “So, what’s he like Tsukki? Is he scary? Is he mean? He must be pretty strong, huh? Wait - He’s not stronger than me, is he?”</p>
<p>Tsukishima couldn't help but laugh, shoving Bokuto’s face away when he pushed too far into his personal space.</p>
<p>It was funny how just two weeks ago, Tsukishima might have answered ‘yes’ to a lot of those questions. Kuroo was the boy who fell out of the sky and opened a chasm to the Underworld in the middle of dinner. Scary? Yes. Mean? Tsukishima did think he called him ugly, so yes. Strong? Undeniably, and terrifyingly yes.</p>
<p>But now, when Bokuto asked about Kuroo, the only images his mind could come up with were of the older boy crying for his older sister, and the way he’d first looked at his bright orange Camp Half Blood t-shirt with so much visceral distaste that Tsukishima got a stomachache from laughing so hard. How shy and unsure he looked approaching the Athena table for dinner that first time, and how impressed he had been when Yamaguchi turned his shoes into cabbages. The way he smiled, and the way he laughed, and the tremors that sometimes still made it hard for him to hold a weapon. And mostly his piercing gold eyes.</p>
<p>“He’s not mean or scary. I think you’re gonna like him a lot, actually.” Tsukishima could feel the stupid grin on his face, but he couldn’t wipe it off, not even when Akaashi gave him a very curious look.</p>
<p>Bokuto sat back, seeming satisfied with the answer. Suddenly, he shot up straight as an arrow with an accusing finger in Tsukishima’s face.</p>
<p>“Wait a minute, you didn’t say if he’s stronger than me or not! Is he? Do I have to make him my mortal enemy? My sworn rival? Tsukki, I need to <i>know!”</i> Bokuto fell dramatically across his lap and Tsukishima pushed him onto the floor. Akaashi delicately stepped over his body as he continued unpacking his things.</p>
<p>Tsukishima smiled to himself. He hadn’t been this excited for a summer in a long time.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>*</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>As a child of Athena, Tsukishima was used to being right at least 99.99999% of the time. Most of the time, he reveled in it.</p>
<p>Not this time, though. Tsukishima had never been more distraught about being right about something in his entire life.</p>
<p>Bokuto did like Kuroo. Liked him a lot, just like Tsukishima predicted.</p>
<p>Liked him <i>too</i> much.</p>
<p>“Oh my Gods, what have you done,” Akaashi whispered next to him in horror. Tsukishima was so unnerved by the scene in front of him, he couldn't even find the words to answer.</p>
<p>Bokuto and Kuroo were, to put it in the lightest of terms, best friends at first sight.</p>
<p>Tsukishima had gone by the Hades cabin that night to walk with Kuroo to dinner, like he did every night. He hadn’t really thought anything of it until they entered the pavilion and Kuroo stopped dead in his tracks. Tsukishima turned to ask him what was wrong, when he noticed that the older boy’s eyes were wide and trained solely at the Big Three table at the front of the pavilion. Bokuto was sitting on one side, silver hair glowing in the moonlight, talking animatedly to the tall, dark-haired boy sitting across from him. Sakusa looked uninterested in whatever Bokuto was saying, but politely nodded along.</p>
<p>“There are people sitting there,” Kuroo said, sounding shocked.</p>
<p>“Oh, yeah. That’s just Bokuto and Sakusa. You can, uh, eat with them now, if you want?” Tsukishima offered hesitantly. Kuroo frowned.</p>
<p>“Instead of eating with you?”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Tsukishima swallowed past the lump in his throat. It was stupid, they were just seating arrangements. It wasn’t like he was never going to see his friend again, plus Akaashi was back now. It made sense for Kuroo to go back to his own table. “Chiron just said you could sit with us so you wouldn’t be alone, but you won’t be alone now. So…”</p>
<p>Kuroo still hadn’t taken another step forward.</p>
<p>“What if they don’t want me there?” He asked in a quiet, unsure voice, so unlike himself.</p>
<p>“Why wouldn’t they? You’re just as much of a child of the Big Three as they are, you know. You have a right to sit there. And even if you didn’t, they’re really nice guys.” Tsukishima elbows him lightly. “I’ll introduce you, okay?”</p>
<p>He knew the Kuroo wasn’t a baby, he didn’t need Tsukishima to do anything for him, but he didn’t mind doing it. He’d been here longer than almost anyone else, he knew this place and these people better than anyone. Kuroo was fourteen years old and never met another demigod besides his sister in his life. Tsukishima was just happy to be able to help. It made him feel older, more experienced, which he almost never got to feel.</p>
<p>“Hey,” Tsukishima knocked Bokuto on the back of the head as they approached. “This is Kuroo, the new camper I was telling you about.”</p>
<p>Bokuto turned, eyes narrowing as he took in Kuroo slowly from head to toe, tapping his chin and making curious humming noises. Tsukishima rolled his eyes, and Sakusa lifted his hand in a disinterested wave before going back to his food.</p>
<p>“This can either go one of two ways,” Bokuto suddenly said very seriously. Kuroo straightened up and held his shoulders back. “One, you will become my destined rival for all time. Two, you will become my best friend for all time. The choice is yours.”</p>
<p>Kuroo smirked, a dangerous curve of his lips. “Well,” he said casually, “I’ve never had a destined rival before. Could be fun.”</p>
<p>Bokuto gasped, eyes lighting up. “That’s exactly what I was thinking, dude!” He grabbed Kuroo by the arm and dragged him into the seat next to him, already launching into some over-excited tirade that Tsukishima couldn’t keep up with even if he wanted to. Despite being the least occupied, the Big Three table easily became the loudest that night.</p>
<p>“Look on the bright side,” Tsukishima said. “At least we aren’t Sakusa.” The son of Poseidon looked like he was currently considering taking a dive into the deepest nearby body of water he could find. Or like he was almost considering actually taking up the seat on Atsumu’s lap that the son of Hermes kept offering him with a lewd smile.</p>
<p>Akaashi nodded solemnly. “Thank the Gods for small miracles.”</p>
<p>“I think it’s nice!” Sugawara chimed in. “I haven’t seen Kuroo look that happy since he got here, have you?”</p>
<p>Tsukishima felt something heavy and sticky like tar settle in the pit of his stomach.</p>
<p>It didn’t take him long to realize it was jealousy.</p>
<p>Because now that Sugawara mentioned it, Kuroo <i>did</i> look happy. Not the weighed down, damp kind of happy he had been these past two weeks. Just genuinely, carefree, no-childhood-trauma-attached happy. He laughed with his head thrown back, like his body couldn’t contain his joy, and boy was he loud. He punched Bokuto, and got punched in return. They shouted over each other, more boisterous than Kuroo ever was with Tsukishima.</p>
<p>Tsukishima suddenly felt very, very young and very, very small.</p>
<p>“It’s because they weren’t here,” Suna, another one of Tsukishima’s brothers who had just gotten back from school, said quietly. Tsukishima looked at him in confusion.</p>
<p>“Who wasn’t where?”</p>
<p>Suna smiled patiently at him. “Bokuto. And Sakusa, too. They weren't here when Kuroo first arrived. I heard he made…quite the impression at dinner.”</p>
<p>Tsukishima shrugged. “He broke open the ground and summoned the undead. Just a little bit, though.”</p>
<p>Suna laughed, shaking his head at Tsukishima fondly. “Just a little, huh? Still, he probably thinks some of the other campers still see him that way, don’t you think? But Bokuto has no preconceived notions of what Kuroo is like, all he sees is what’s right in front of him. He’s simple and lives in the present. Sometimes people who have been though a lot need simple and present, so they don’t think about other stuff.”</p>
<p>Tsukishima looked back over at the Big Three table, where Bokuto was currently putting french fries up his nose while Kuroo laughed so hard, tears started to stream down his face. He always looked much older to Tsukishima before this moment, but now, he truly seemed his age. Kuroo was just a kid like him. It was easy to forget sometimes.</p>
<p>He didn’t feel quite so jealous anymore.</p>
<p>“You, on the other hand, are the exact opposite of ‘simple’.” Suna added with his usual sly, knowing grin that made him look like a fox. “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who thinks quite as much as you, and that’s saying a lot coming from a child of Athena. But sometimes, Kei, people need that, too. From what I can tell, it seems like Kuroo needs a lot of different kinds of people to make him whole again, but you were the first part. The biggest one.”</p>
<p>An image of Kuroo popped into Tsukishima’s head, then, of a puzzle still mostly undone. Just the outline of his body visible, but the inside missing pieces. But right there, in the middle of his chest, there was just one big piece and Tsukishima knew it belonged to him.</p>
<p>He kicked his older brother lightly in the shins under the table, refusing to show the affection that was about to burst his chest cavity open in any other way. “Thanks, Suna.”</p>
<p>“You can thank me by stealing me an extra s’more at the next campfire.”</p>
<p>“Deal.”</p>
<p>“I knew you had a favorite brother!” Sugawara wailed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>*</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>That Friday, Chiron finally declared that enough campers had come back for the summer that they could have a real game of capture the flag.</p>
<p>There were always a few games played sporadically throughout the year, but it was much less serious and well-organized than the summer games. They switched teams around for fun, split cabins in half, tried out all their new tricks, and sometimes just stopped playing halfway through before either team even won. The summer games were when people came for blood.</p>
<p>Also, this would be Kuroo’s first time playing.</p>
<p>“I think we should take the Hades cabin,” Tsukishima announced the night before, when he and his siblings were all sitting up late talking strategy by flashlight. The Athena and Ares cabins were the main organizing forces behind capture the flag, due to their superior war knowledge. And as a result, they had the biggest rivalry. The Athena cabin were the captains of one team, and Ares was captain of the other.</p>
<p>“Is that a personal preference or a game plan?” Sugawara teased. Tsukishima hoped the dim lighting hid his blush.</p>
<p>“A game plan!” He insisted. “The Ares kids are all still a little wary of him. He’s a wild card, and obviously a good fighter.”</p>
<p>“We always get Bokuto, too, though,” Daishou pointed out. “The Ares kids will definitely complain if we get two children of the Big Three and they only get one.”</p>
<p>“There are three children of the Big Three at camp now, it’s inevitable that one team will have more than the other.”</p>
<p>“Well the Ares cabin will say it should be them.”</p>
<p>“We give them the Apollo cabin for him.” All of his siblings looked at Tsukishima like he’d lost his mind.</p>
<p>The teams were usually split like this: Athena, Apollo, Hephaestus, Zeus, Demeter, and Hypnos vs Ares, Hermes, Aphrodite, Poseidon, and Dionysus.</p>
<p>Because of the sizes and fighting abilities of each cabin, the teams usually ended up being pretty even. The Athena team got both Demeter and Hypnos because they were some of the smallest cabins, and Ares got Hermes, the biggest. Apollo, Hephaestus, and Aphrodite cabins were pretty evenly spread, and each team got an overpowered child of the Big Three.</p>
<p>The Apollo cabin were some of the Athena team’s biggest numbers and fighting ability, and Tsukishima was suggesting they hand them over to Ares.</p>
<p>“You think Kuroo is worth the entire Apollo cabin?” Akaashi asked with a half-smile.</p>
<p>Tsukishima looked around at each of his sibling’s faces in turn.</p>
<p>“I think he’s worth finding out.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>*</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>They had perfect capture the flag weather that day. Just on the hinge of late spring and summer, the heat was finally kicking up that extra notch that made little beads of sweat roll down Tsukishima’s spin when he was just standing there doing nothing. It was gross, but it was a familiar sensation, one that reminded him of many other summers just like this one.</p>
<p>Their proposal had been met with a lot of grumbling from the Ares team at first, but when they offered the Apollo cabin, Daichi’s eyes lit up at the sight of Hinata Shoyou bounding over to his side of the field. Hinata was short, but he was quick and agile and easily the best archer at camp.</p>
<p>“So we’re on the same team?” Kuroo asked him with a small, pleased smile that yes, was worth the entire Apollo cabin.</p>
<p>“You better not mess this up, Death Boy,” Tsukishima warned. “My reputation is riding on you kicking ass today.”</p>
<p>“Consider their asses kicked, Smarty Pants.”</p>
<p>Sugawara waved their team to gather around so he could give them all the strategy. Tsukishima only half paid attention (he did help make the strategy, after all), instead watching Kuroo’s profile while he listened intently. His eyebrows were set in a serious line, eyes dark and shining, jaw tight. It was a new look on him that Tsukishima had never seen before. He was pretty glad Kuroo was on their team, because he didn’t think he would want to face that look in battle.</p>
<p>“Alright, besides those few changes, everything will carry on business as usual,” Sugawara announced. “Hephaestus cabin, you guys run ahead and set the traps. Don’t forget to cover the stream this time, since Sakusa is back now. And as always, for the love of Gods, make sure to keep Oikawa from getting within 100 feet of Iwaizumi, or he will Charmspeak him into confessing where all of the traps are laid. Again.” Sugawara gave the boy in question a pointed look.</p>
<p>“It was one time!” Iwaizumi defended, cheeks growing suspiciously ruddy while the entire team laughed at his misfortune.</p>
<p>Kuroo nudged his side and asked, “What’s Charmspeak?”</p>
<p>“It’s a gift some of the Aphrodite kids have,” Tsukishima explained quietly, not wanting to interrupt Sugawara’s speech. “They can put this, like, magical charm in their voices so that they can persuade you to do anything they want.”</p>
<p>Kuroo nodded. “So why is he the only one who has to look out for it?” He jerked his head in Iwaizumi’s direction. Tsukishima smirked, leaning in a little closer so he was speaking right into Kuroo’s ear.</p>
<p>“Oikawa’s Charmspeak isn’t actually that strong yet,” he whispered, and thought that he felt Kuroo shiver in the summer heat. “The rest of us can resist him just fine, it’s only Iwaizumi that can’t.”</p>
<p>Kuroo pulled back sharply, eyebrows creasing. “Oh, are they -?”</p>
<p>Tsukishima snorted. “Oikawa wishes. Children of Aphrodite are rarely wrong about this kind of thing, though. It’s only a matter of time now.”</p>
<p>“Hm. I kind of prefer the mystery of it all, I think.” Kuroo said thoughtfully.</p>
<p>“Mystery of what?”</p>
<p>One side of Kuroo’s mouth lifted in a lopsided grin. “Romance. Love. Soulmates. All that good stuff, you know?”</p>
<p>The beads of sweat rolling down Tsukishima’s spine suddenly felt ice cold. No, he really didn’t know. He didn’t know anything about all that stuff. He never even really thought about it before, except for maybe that one time when he was eleven and broke his arm in three places falling out of a tree. He had to spend two days straight in the infirmary with Ennoshita looking after him, and Tsukishima’s traitorous mind chose then and there to realize that the son of Apollo had very nice brown eyes and the softest hands he’d ever felt. It was a crush, probably, but quick and fleeting. Once he got discharged, the feeling all but fizzled away, pushed to the back of his mind once he returned to his normal life.</p>
<p>Did Kuroo know about these things?</p>
<p>Tsukishima shrugged tightly. “Not really,” he admitted. Kuroo didn’t laugh at him, or look at him like he was a little kid like Tsukishima worried he would. Instead his grin just got bigger.</p>
<p>“Yeah, me neither. I guess we’ll find out one day, huh?”</p>
<p>“Hm. Maybe,” Tsukishima agreed halfheartedly. He was only thirteen, he wasn’t all that concerned with romance or love or soulmates right now. What he <i>was</i> worried about was winning capture the flag.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>*</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Tsukishima, as a rule, did not like being woken up in the middle of the night by Sugawara sitting on top of him shining a flashlight directly in his eyes.</p>
<p>“Ack! What the hell, Suga?” Tsukishima sat up so fast he hit his head on the bunk above him, groaning in pain as his older brother jumped off of him.</p>
<p>“Sorry! Sorry, Kei, jeez are you alright? I didn’t mean to scare you so much,” Sugawara apologized.</p>
<p>“What <i>did</i> you mean to do?” Tsukishima groused, rubbing his forehead with one hand and pushing himself upright with the other. Sugawara looked flightily over his shoulder, face creased with concern.</p>
<p>“You have a, um, visitor?”</p>
<p>“At - “ Tsukishima checked his alarm clock, - “Three in the morning? I swear to Gods, if it’s Bokuto with another stupid joke, I’m going to - “</p>
<p>“It’s not Bokuto,” a familiar placid voice came from the darkness. Kenma stepped closer so that Tsukishima could see his faded blonde hair and tired eyed in the glow of Sugawara’s flashlight.</p>
<p>“Uh, hey Kenma? What’s up?” Tsukishima asked, even more confused. He and Kenma liked each other just fine, but it wasn’t like they were good friends or anything. Kenma barely spoke to him the light of day, let alone the middle of the night. Then again, the son of Hypos didn’t speak to anyone much at all since he was sleeping the majority of the time.</p>
<p>“I can’t sleep.”</p>
<p>Well, that got Tsukishima’s attention.</p>
<p>“Since when do <i>you</i> have trouble sleeping?” He sat up further, swinging his legs over the edge of his bed.</p>
<p>“Since the son of Hades won’t stop screaming,” Kenma informed him calmly. A rush of adrenaline seemed to flood Tsukishima’s system, and he was on his feet in an instant.</p>
<p>“Kuroo? Is he hurt? Is he okay?” Tsukishima asked hurriedly. Sugawara put a comforting hand on his shoulder and it took all of his respect for his older brother not to shrug it off and go running to the Hades cabin.</p>
<p>“Physically? Yeah, he’s fine.” Kenma shrugged. “Inside his head, though? Not great.”</p>
<p>Realization dawned on Tsukishima. “You’ve been Dream Walking.”</p>
<p>“He’s been asking me for help falling asleep ever since he got here.” Kenma started to crawl into Tsukishima’s now vacant bed, pulling the comforter over himself. “I have no problem helping him fall asleep, but it’s his nightmares that have been making it impossible for me to sleep. They’re so jarring. Lots of screaming. Hard to ignore in the Dream Realm. I figured since you’re his friend and all, you could go over there and help him out.” Kenma fluffed Tsukishima’s pillow a few times before snuggling in with a large yawn. “Thanks, Tsukishima.”</p>
<p>And then he was out cold.</p>
<p>Tsukishima didn’t know how long he stood there, still in shock, processing Kenma’s words. It made sense, of course it did. Kuroo had been through months of horror before getting to camp, it was no wonder he was having nightmares. Honestly, sometimes Tsukishima forgot about that part of Kuroo’s past. He had been adjusting so well, his personality had done a complete one-eighty since the first day he arrived. He was all smiles and jokes, especially with Bokuto. Kuroo always kept up such a strong facade of being okay in the daytime, it made it easy to forget.</p>
<p>Tsukishima felt like the world’s worst friend.</p>
<p>“Go,” Sugawara said quietly, breaking Tsukishima out of his downward spiral of self-hatred. “I’ll cover for you.”</p>
<p>“But what about the - ?”</p>
<p>“Kuroo needs you,” Sugawara said firmly. “That’s all you need to worry about right now. I’ll take care of the rest, okay?”</p>
<p>Tsukishima hesitated, but only for half a second. At this point, he hardly even cared if he got caught or punished for being out of his cabin past curfew. His blood was rushing in his ears.</p>
<p>Sugawara told Tsukishima he would create a distraction for him (he didn’t want to know what that meant) to keep the Harpies from seeing him leave the cabin, but warned that he would only have a few moments to get to the Hades cabin before they were looking for campers breaking the rules to sink their teeth into again. With his heart pounding in his throat, Tsukishima waited for the signal.</p>
<p>The “signal” ended up being a very loud explosion from somewhere in the distance. He heard the Harpies shrieking get fainter as they headed in that direction, and made his move. It felt like he was at the Hades cabin in the blink of an eye.</p>
<p>“Kuroo?” Tsukishima knocked on the door, whispering urgently. He didn’t know how much longer he had. “Kuroo, come on, I’m gonna get eaten if you don’t let me in, you jerk!”</p>
<p>The sound of shrieking in the distance slowly started getting closer, so with a silent apology, Tsukishima slipped into the Hades cabin without waiting for an invitation. He could ask for Kuroo’s forgiveness for breaking in later, when he was still in one piece.</p>
<p>It took a few seconds for Tsukishima’s eyes to adjust to the darkness. He had never been in the Hades cabin before, it kind of gave him the creeps. The entire room was hauntingly beautiful, like something you saw in a picture and thought about forever, but never really wanted to touch. The interior was painted all black, with a large four-poster bed right in the center. Deep red velvet curtains were draped over all of the windows and across the back of the bed. Jars of bright green Greek fire lined the wall, giving the room an eerie glow.</p>
<p>And there, laying in the middle of the bed, limbs sprawled out with one arm flung over his eyes and his pajama pants twisted around his hips, was Kuroo. His breathing was jagged, and in the low light, Tsukishima could see that his entire body was covered in a thin layer of sweat. Cautiously, he started toward the bed.</p>
<p>“Kuroo?” He whispered. Kuroo groaned like he was in pain. “It’s okay, Kuroo, it’s me. It’s Tsukishima. You’re just having a bad dream, you big dummy.” He was nearly at Kuroo’s bedside now, and could hear the pitiful whimpers in the back of his throat. Tsukishima reached out with one hand, fingertips just barely grazing Kuroo’s shoulder before the son of Hades was gasping, clutching at Tsukishima’s arm and screaming.</p>
<p>“MINA!”</p>
<p>Tsukishima jerked backwards, startled by the shout, but Kuroo kept a viselike grip on his arm. His eyes were still closed. He was still in his nightmare.</p>
<p>“Kuroo!” Tsukishima called his name a little louder this time, his heart beating like a jackhammer in his chest. “Wake up, you’re hurting me!” Tsukishima tried to twist his arm free, and Kuroo’s nails dug in. Tsukishima winced, feeling the skin break.</p>
<p>“Don’t!” Kuroo groaned. “Don’t, don’t hurt her!” Dark wispy tendrils started to pour off of him, snaking around the darkness of the room, swirling around in a circle like a typhoon. Tsukishima had seen what Kuroo could do with his Underworld powers in the daytime when he had complete control over it. He didn’t want to see what they could do when he was trapped in a nightmare with no control over them whatsoever.</p>
<p>The bottom of the cabin began to crumble, and the boney white hands of the undead started clawing their way out.</p>
<p>“Kuroo!” Tsukishima started smacking him with his other hand, sharp hits to his face. It pained him to hurt Kuroo, especially when everything happening wasn’t his fault, but panic was starting to creep into the edges of Tsukishima’s logical thinking. “If you actually kill me, Death Boy, I’m going to haunt you for the rest of your life!”</p>
<p>
  <i>Okay, think. Think, Tsukishima, think. How can I wake him up without hurting him or myself in the process?</i>
</p>
<p>Abruptly, he stopped smacking Kuroo in the face, and instead used that hand to pinch his nose. He let out a startled yelp when he felt something cold and very much not living grab him by the ankle, but he refused to let go. A few seconds later, Kuroo’s eyelids flew open, lips parting in a deep, ragged gasp. His eyes were wide and startled, darting around the room frantically until his golden irises landed on Tsukishima.</p>
<p>“Tsu…Tsukki?” Kuroo croaked.</p>
<p>“Yes, hi, it’s me,” Tsukishima said in a rush. “Do you think you could, um, un-summon the undead before I end up joining them?”</p>
<p>Kuroo’s eyes widened even further, taking in the state of the room and the boney fingers crawling up Tsukishima’s calf now.</p>
<p>“Away!” Kuroo barked. “I order you to get away from him right now!”</p>
<p>Tsukishima let out a breath as the fingers of death released him from their grasp and slithered back to where they belonged. The floor closed up not even a moment later, sealing them away. There was silence left in its wake.</p>
<p>“I’m so - I didn’t mean to - “ Kuroo’s face was deathly pale in the firelight.</p>
<p>“I shouldn’t have barged in like that,” Tsukishima said, voice trembling. Kuroo frowned and instinctively flexed his fingers tighter around Tsukishima’s forearm. Tsukishima winced and Kuroo looked down, his expression morphing into horror.</p>
<p>“Gods, Tsukki, shit.” He gently released his grip, little beads of blood pooling in the indents he left behind. His eyes starting pooling with tears, too. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”</p>
<p>Ignoring the stinging in his arm and the awkwardness of the action, Tsukishima sat next to Kuroo on his bed and threw his arms around his waist, tucking his face into the juncture of Kuroo’s neck and taking a deep, calming breath. He could still feel his pulse fluttering erratically in the aftershock of what had just happened, and he secured his arms tightly around the firm body in front of him, desperate to ground them both.</p>
<p>Tsukishima hated this needy, clingy feeling, but he was scared. As long as he had been here, and as experienced and smart as he was, he was still only thirteen. There was only so much that weapons training and arts and crafts could do to prepare a kid for almost being dragged into the Underworld by his friend’s skeleton minions. </p>
<p>“It’s okay, Kuroo.” He forced himself to try and comfort Kuroo, as well. “Everything’s okay.”</p>
<p>The son of Hades slowly wrapped his own arms around Tsukishima’s shoulders, trembling as he clutched at his back. If he cried that night, he was silent about it, but Tsukishima just kept holding on anyways.</p>
<p>“Everything isn’t okay,” Kuroo whispered, what might have been hours later. Tsukishima wasn’t sure how much time had passed.</p>
<p>“No, it’s not,” Tsukishima agreed. “But it’s going to be. We’re going to get you through this. Me and you and Bokuto and Akaashi and everyone else at camp. But we can’t help you if you don’t talk to us.”</p>
<p>Kuroo exhaled shakily and didn’t say anything else for so long, Tsukishima eventually fell asleep. He woke up with his arms still around Kuroo’s waist and his head resting on his chest. It was warm and familiar, reminded him of when he was younger and he and Yamaguchi used to have sleepovers in the same bunk together.</p>
<p>And the next day they talked about the nightmares for hours and hours, until Kuroo’s voice was cracked raw and his so was his chest, exposing all the sticky, dark parts of his heart. Tsukishima could tell he felt a lot better afterwards. Maybe not perfect yet, but it was a start.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>*</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“They still don’t like me.”</p>
<p>Tsukishima looked up from the book in his lap to find Kuroo unhappily kicking his bare feet in the lake water, scowling down at his reflection.</p>
<p>“Who?” Tsukishima placed a bookmark between his pages and set the book down beside him, pulling his knees up and tilting his face towards his friend.</p>
<p>“The Ares kids. And the Aphrodite. And Hephaestus.” Kuroo continued to splash. “Just because I’m a child of Hades.” </p>
<p>Ever since he had almost accidentally gotten Tsukishima dragged to the Underworld during his nightmare, Kuroo was especially sensitive about the whole “child of Hades” thing.</p>
<p>“They don’t dislike you because you’re a child of Hades,” Tsukishima said. “They don’t like you because you were rude to Oikawa.”</p>
<p>Kuroo’s head snapped up, frown still firmly set in place. “What?”</p>
<p>“I mean, that first night you got here you did all that Underworld-y stuff, just to freak Oikawa out. Therefore, Oikawa doesn’t like you, therefore, the entire Aphrodite cabin doesn’t like you. They’re pretty protective of him, you know? Iwaizumi doesn’t like you for the same reason, therefore, the entire Hephaestus cabin doesn’t like you because they respect him so much.” Tsukishima smirked. “The Ares cabin just doesn’t like you because we’ve been beating them in capture the flag nonstop since you joined our team.”</p>
<p>Kuroo’s frown broke a little, probably at the memory of how badly they’d crushed the Ares team the past few weeks in a row. Tsukishima would never let his siblings forget that it was his risky strategy that got them on this winning streak.</p>
<p>“So…” Kuroo hedged. “What should I do?” He looked off his footing, like he wasn’t used to people not liking him, or at least not used to caring about it.</p>
<p>“Are you asking me for a strategy?” Tsukishima couldn’t help but grin smugly. Kuroo laughed, kicking up some water so that it splashed Tsukishima’s legs.</p>
<p>“Yeah, Smarty Pants, I’m asking for a strategy. You got one?”</p>
<p>Tsukishima hummed thoughtfully. “I have an idea. It’s pretty simple, but you’re probably not going to enjoy it.”</p>
<p>And that was how Tsukishima found himself, half an hour later, hidden behind a tree watching from a couple hundred yards away as Kuroo apologized to Oikawa. Iwaizumi was there, too, of course. Though Tsukishima had a feeling even if he wasn’t invited, he wouldn’t have left Oikawa alone with Kuroo, anyways. He was standing close over Oikawa’s shoulder, impressive arms made firm with muscle from endless hours spent in the forges crossed over his chest. Oikawa had his head cocked to the side, a polite grin on his face, but expression otherwise giving away nothing. Oikawa was skilled at hiding his emotions like that.</p>
<p>As for Kuroo, Tsukishima couldn’t see his face from his hiding spot, but his hands were waving emphatically as he explained himself and tried to earn Oikawa’s forgiveness. It took quite some time to convince Kuroo that this was the simplest way to get in both cabin’s good graces. If Oikawa forgave him, so would his siblings, and so would Iwaizumi and the rest of Hephaestus. That was just how the politics of a bunch of teenagers worked.</p>
<p>After a few minutes, Kuroo’s hands stilled, then were promptly shoved straight into his pockets. Oikawa’s face didn’t change for a few moments, though Iwaizumi looked less inclined to pounce at any moments now. Finally, Oikawa’s lips spread into a genuine, breathtaking smile, perfect straight white teeth on full display as he grabbed at one of Kuroo’s arms, nodding his head and talking quickly. Tsukishima let out a relieved breath.</p>
<p>Then, Oikawa’s deep smokey eyes slid over Kuroo’s shoulder and locked right on Tsukishima. He froze, quickly ducking back behind the tree so that only one eye peeked out. Oikawa’s expression went apologetic, and he held up a finger to Kuroo as if to say <i>One moment.</i> Iwaizumi stepped forward in his place and he and Kuroo shared a strong handshake before the two of them were off talking like old friends.</p>
<p>Oikawa strolled right up to Tsukishima’s hiding spot, one hand resting delicately on his hip. “I take it this was your doing, huh, Kei?”</p>
<p>“I don’t know what you mean.”</p>
<p>Oikawa laughed, bright and fluttery. “Don’t play dumb, darling, it doesn’t suit a child of Athena. You put him up to this, didn’t you? Kuroo doesn’t exactly strike me as the type to kiss and make up.”</p>
<p>“And I do?” Tsukishima challenged. Oikawa laughed again, waving his hand in front of his face.</p>
<p>“Gods no, you’re about as stubborn as they come, Tsukishima Kei. But you are smart enough to when you should. Strategic alliances, and all that.”</p>
<p>“He didn’t apologize for some kind of stupid alliance,” Tsukishima bit out. “Kuroo isn’t - He’s not like that.” <i>Not like me.</i> “He did it because it was genuinely bothering him that you guys didn’t like him and he wanted to make it right. Because he’s a good person.”</p>
<p>Tsukishima didn’t know where all of that had come from, or why his heart was now beating so fast, but Oikawa’s expression had suddenly changed completely. He wasn’t smirking at Tsukishima with amusement, he was full on beaming with excitement, his eyes sparkling with intrigue.</p>
<p>“You don’t say,” he murmured, studying Tsukishima like he was a shiny new toy. “And what else do you think about Kuroo?”</p>
<p>Tsukishima shut his mouth so fast his jaw made a loud <i>clacking</i> noise. Oikawa’s smile grew impossibly larger.</p>
<p>
  <i>I think he’s the most bizarre boy I’ve ever met, and possibly the most broken, but still the strongest. I think his hair is ridiculous, and so is his laugh, but I like them for some weird reason. I think he’s good and brave, the kind of person that they write epic poems about and put on vases. I think he could be a hero one day - and I want to be there to help him do it.</i>
</p>
<p>“I think… He’s going to steal your boyfriend if you don’t go break them up soon.” Tsukishima nodded over to where Iwaizumi and Kuroo were comparing bicep sizes. Kuroo was hopelessly losing, but laughing and not looking too upset about it. </p>
<p>Oikawa’s smile fell into an immediate pout. “Oh no, he isn’t!” He turned on his heel and started to storm away. Tsukishima felt an uncomfortable pulling sensation in the pit of his stomach, mouth opening before he could even think about it.</p>
<p>
  <i>Children of Aphrodite are rarely wrong about this kind of thing.</i>
</p>
<p>“Hey, Oikawa?” He asked, voice wavering and tongue feeling too big for his mouth. Oikawa looked back at him over his shoulder with a smile much gentler than before.</p>
<p>“Yes, Kei?”</p>
<p>Tsukishima’s mouth opened, then closed again. He had no idea what he wanted to say next. He didn’t even know why he called Oikawa back, there was just something buried down deep inside him that needed an answer to a question he didn’t even have. It was the most frustrating feeling Tsukishima had ever experienced in his life.</p>
<p>
  <i>I kind of prefer the mystery of it all.</i>
</p>
<p>“Um.” Tsukishima shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. “Just - Never mind.”</p>
<p>Oikawa’s eyes softened. “Gods of Olympus, Kei, you’re going to be quite an interesting one to watch, aren’t you?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>*</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>On the last day of that summer, Bokuto told Tsukishima a secret.</p>
<p>Only, he didn’t know it was a secret. He thought Tsukishima already knew, because apparently, everyone else did. Everyone but him.</p>
<p>“I’m so excited for Kuroo to come to school with me!”</p>
<p>It felt like there was a boulder sitting on Tsukishima’s chest when he heard that. Like the icy hands of death were wrapped around his lungs and he couldn’t breathe. Like tiny needles were jabbing him repeatedly in the backs of his eyes.</p>
<p>“Kuroo’s - What?” His voice cracked on the last word. Stupid puberty.</p>
<p>“Nice going, Bokuto.” Akaashi sighed, scooting closer to Tsukishima on his bed to wrap his arms around his shoulders. Bokuto looked confused between the two of them, eyebrows furrowing in concern.</p>
<p>“But - Didn’t you already know that, Tsukki? You’re Kuroo’s best friend!”</p>
<p>“Apparently not.” The words tasted like acid on Tsukishima’s tongue.</p>
<p>The end of the summer was always bittersweet for Tsukishima, with the majority of the campers, including Akaashi and Bokuto going home for the school year. He had never even considered - he had just assumed that Kuroo would be staying at camp. With him. Kuroo didn’t have any family or home to go back to, just like Tsukishima.</p>
<p>But he was - He was leaving?</p>
<p>Tsukishima always took into account every possible outcome to every situation, but he hadn’t expected this one. Not even a little.</p>
<p>It made sense, in a horrible, logical way that Tsukishima couldn’t argue with. Bokuto’s family was well-off, and very nice from what Tsukishima heard. He and Bokuto were the same age, they would be in the same class, and Akaashi would be there, too, and they could all look out for each other. Kuroo had gotten close with all three of them that summer, and the four of them spent almost all of their free time together, when Tsukishima wasn’t hanging out with Yamaguchi. Tsukishima knew that Bokuto and Akaashi were his friends, too, now. That they would take care of him.</p>
<p>But it didn’t make it any easier for Tsukishima to breathe. He didn’t want to miss another person for a whole year. He didn’t want to miss Kuroo.</p>
<p>“Don’t cry, Kei,” Akaashi’s gentle voice soothed in his ear. Tsukishima reached up under his glasses and was surprised to find his fingertips wet. He didn’t even notice himself start crying.</p>
<p>And just like that, some sort of dam inside of him broke open and he was sobbing, curled up in Akaashi’s lap like he was a little kid again. Bokuto was at his other side in an instant, rubbing circles into his back and apologizing profusely, but it wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t anyone’s fault but Tsukishima’s, for not seeing this coming.</p>
<p>“I don’t want him to go.” Tsukishima choked out the words, feeling like they were strangling him. He hated this, hated looking and feeling so weak. If anyone but Akaashi and Bokuto were around in that moment, he never would have let himself break down.</p>
<p>“I know,” Akaashi said quietly, tucking errant strands of Tsukishima’s blonde hair behind his ears. He hadn’t gotten it cut all summer. “It’s alright to be sad.”</p>
<p>“We can Iris message all the time!” Bokuto promised. “And letters! You know we always write you tons of letters!”</p>
<p>But Iris messages and letters wouldn’t be the same. After that summer, after meeting Kuroo Tetsurou, nothing in Tsukishima’s life would ever be the same again.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>*</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I thought I’d find you out here.”</p>
<p>Tsukishima wasn’t surprised that Kuroo had found him. He had brought the older boy to the strawberry fields with him dozens of times over the summer, so much so that it stopped being ‘Tsukishima’s Place’ and started to be ‘Theirs’. Kuroo settled into the soft grass beside Tsukishima, stretching his legs out in front of him and leaning back on his elbows. Tsukishima didn't dare look over at his face. He didn’t want to start crying again.</p>
<p>“Hey, so listen…” Kuroo started hesitantly after a few minutes.</p>
<p>“I already know.”</p>
<p>Kuroo sucked in sharply. “You do?”</p>
<p>Tsukishima nodded, keeping his gaze on the field in front of him. “Yeah. Bokuto told me.”</p>
<p>“Oh.” Kuroo didn’t say anything else, leaving an awkward, heavy pause hanging between them.</p>
<p>“You should have told me yourself,” Tsukishima whispered, breaking the silence. His voice was still rough from crying, but he thought he hid it well.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry,” Kuroo said softly. “I didn’t know how to tell you.”</p>
<p>“You had no problem telling literally everyone else,” Tsukishima accused. He sounded whiney, even to his own ears. Sugawara would have told him off if he were here.</p>
<p>“It’s not - “ Kuroo struggled for a moment. “You’re not like everyone else,” he settled on.</p>
<p>“Why not?” Tsukishima finally peeked at him out of the corner of his eye. Kuroo was already looking at him. He had the same look on his face that he did before his first game of capture the flag. A look of intense concentration.</p>
<p>“I don’t know,” he said finally. Tsukishima would have pushed harder, but he could see it in Kuroo’s piercing gold eyes that he was telling the truth. “I really am sorry, Tsukki.”</p>
<p>“That you didn’t tell me, or that you’re leaving?”</p>
<p>“Um. Both?”</p>
<p>Tsukishima shook his head, smiling a little at Kuroo’s hesitance. “You don’t have to be sorry for leaving. I get it, really. I’d probably do the same thing if I was you. You’re going to live with Bokuto and his super rich, super nice family, and get to go to a normal school with your best friend. You don’t have to apologize for that, Kuroo. I’m happy for you.”</p>
<p>And that was the truth. After getting all those dark, bitter feelings cried out of him, Tsukishima truly <i>was</i> happy for Kuroo. It was like Suna said, there were a lot of different pieces that needed to come together to make Kuroo whole again. Tsukishima could be one of those pieces, but he couldn’t be all of them. Kuroo needed the chance to experience life with a family again, going to a normal school and making normal friends. To study for Algebra tests instead of training with swords and shields, to go to school dances instead of capture the flag games, to have a mother cook him dinner instead of buying smuggled bags of chips from the Miya twins.</p>
<p>If Kuroo wanted that, a chance at tasting a normal life again, even if it was only for a few months out of the year, Tsukishima wanted that for him.</p>
<p>Kuroo smiled at him, soft enough to make his stomach do somersaults, and put his hand over Tsukishima’s on the grass between them. Just like the first day they met, it was bigger, broader and tanner than Tsukishima’s. It was still littered with scars and calloused with stories behind them that Tsukishima might never know.</p>
<p>But this time it wasn’t the hand of some mysterious stranger. It was the hand of someone Tsukishima held very dear to his heart.</p>
<p>“Thanks, Tsukki. I’ll write all the time, you know I will. And you’ll keep me up to date on everything going on back here, right? You’ll tell me all of your new capture the flag strategies? And whether Oikawa and Iwaizumi ever start dating? And what new plants Ushijima and Yamaguchi start growing? And if anyone ever beats Terushima at a burping contest? And - “</p>
<p>“Yes, yes,” Tsukishima cut him off with a laugh. “I’ll tell you about everything, I promise. It’ll be like you never even left.” He let out a little huff of surprise when a pair of arms were suddenly thrown around him, holding him close to a solid, warm body. He pretended not to notice when Kuroo started sniffling a little, because not everyone had the luxury of getting all their tears out in front of Akaashi and Bokuto like he did.</p>
<p>“I’ll miss you,” Kuroo said quietly into his shoulder.</p>
<p>“You better, Death Boy.”</p>
<p>Kuroo pulled away with a slightly wet laugh, and Tsukishima felt cold all of a sudden, though he didn’t feel any breeze. Kuroo took a deep breath, in through his nose, and Tsukishima watched as his face scrunched up like he was deep in thought. Before Tsukishima could ask what was going on in that thick head of his, Kuroo was ducking in once again, pressing his nose to Tsukishima’s neck and taking a deep inhale.</p>
<p>“Hey!” Tsukishima instinctively swatted him away. “What are you doing, you freak?”</p>
<p>Kuroo laughed again, this time without any trace of tears. “That’s it! I can’t believe it took me all summer to figure it out!”</p>
<p>“Figure what out?” Tsukishima frowned.</p>
<p>“Why you always smell so sweet! I couldn’t put my finger on it for the longest time, I’m so stupid for not realizing it sooner.” Kuroo poked Tsukishima in the cheek and grinned at him. “You smell like strawberries.”</p>
<p>Tsukishima blinked at Kuroo and didn’t move for a very long moment. It felt like, possibly, the longest moment of all time. Sitting there in the strawberry field, subjected to Kuroo Tetsurou, Lord of Darkness, beaming at him with his kilowatt smile, his finger pressing a dimple into Tsukishima’s cheek, being told that he’s been thinking all summer about how sweet Tsukishima smells.</p>
<p>“You…are so weird,” Tsukishima said faintly. <i>You’re amazing and fantastic and I’m going to miss you so much,</i> danced on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed it back down.</p>
<p>Just then, there was shouting from the top of the hill, and they both turned to see Bokuto waving his hands and gesturing to Kuroo that it was time to leave by making large circular motions, like a windmill or a baseball coach calling their player home.</p>
<p>Kuroo’s grin fell marginally. “Guess I better get going.”</p>
<p>“Guess so.” Tsukishima felt like a toy wound too tight. Like one more push and he might break completely. Kuroo gave him a final pat on the shoulder before climbing to his feet, brushing the grass of his pants and starting towards Bokuto. </p>
<p>“Oh,” Kuroo said suddenly, turning back to Tsukishima. “I forgot something.”</p>
<p>Tsukishima frowned up at him, shielding his eyes from the sun. “What?”</p>
<p>“Bokuto isn’t my best friend, Tsukki.” Kuroo grinned. “You are. You’re my favorite person in the whole world.” And then he was loping off again, his tall, lanky figure growing smaller in the distance, the late afternoon shadows dancing around his feet.</p>
<p>Tsukishima watched him go, with this horrible, stabbing pain somewhere in his abdomen.</p>
<p>It was just beneath his ribcage.</p>
<p>A terrible ache.</p>
<p>Right in his heart.</p>
<p>Tsukishima didn’t know anything about romance or love or soulmates, but he had a funny feeling he was going to learn all too soon.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. the summer of love</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>“Ah, there it is.” Futakuchi cut him off. He cocked his head to the side, regarding Tsukishima with a wistful smile.</p><p>“There what is?” Tsukishima frowned in confusion.</p><p>“You reek of love.”</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>okay first of all? i was literally so blown away by how much people were enjoying this fic after just the first chapter!! so thank u all so much for reading and all ur amazing comments it rly motivated me to keep writing this story!!</p><p>that being said, i did make the decision to re-outline and make this fic even longer! so the good news is, there's an extra chapter. bad news is, that means the things i promised at the end of last chapter (the quest, the godly guest appearances, the three-headed dog) wont be until next chapter :((</p><p>if anyone is interested, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvMyyOb_ta0">this</a> is the love song semi eita sings during the campfire (you'll know it when it happens lol)</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/oiiblondie">my twitter</a><br/><a href="https://twitter.com/oiiblondie/status/1255330457748635649?s=20">moodboard</a><br/> </p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
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  <b>The Summer of Love</b>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>It started in the fall. Tsukishima remembers that much very vividly, because if it hadn’t been for the crisp autumn bite in the air that evening, it might not have ever started at all.</p><p>It was a few weeks after the summer ended. A few weeks since the part-timers left, and a few weeks since Tsukishima had to say goodbye to Bokuto, Akaashi, and Kuroo again. He didn’t cry that year. He was getting pretty used to it, after all. This was already the second time he had to let all three of them go.</p><p>And he was fifteen now. He didn’t really cry in front of people anymore, even though Sugawara and Akaashi both told him it was okay if he did.</p><p>It was Lev’s birthday, which Tsukishima didn’t generally care about very much, but it also happened to be the day before Halloween - a holiday that Tsukishima didn’t totally hate. He was a pretty good pumpkin carver, even if Yamaguchi still beat him every year. The year-rounders still at camp decided to have a big campfire to celebrate both occasions, and Tsukishima was just starting to shake the melancholy that always lingered under his skin when summer ended and his friends left, so he was in a pretty good mood. Plus, Yamaguchi probably wound’t have let him skip even if he wanted to.</p><p>Tsukishima ended up sitting on a log between Yamaguchi and Futakuchi Kenji from the Aphrodite cabin. This in itself wasn’t any sort of strange occurrence. There were a limited number of seats around the campfire, and sometimes people had to squeeze in tight together. Tsukishima was sure that he and Futakuchi had sat next to each other before that night.</p><p>About halfway through Semi Eita’s third song of the night, and Tsukishima noticed a faint clicking sound from beside him. It was barely audible underneath Semi’s pleasantly raspy voice, and maybe if Tsukishima had been sitting even an inch further away, he never would have noticed it. But he did.</p><p>“Why aren’t you wearing a jacket?” He asked bluntly. Futakuchi scowled over at him, but the effect of it was kind of lost with the way he was huddled over with his arms wrapped around his knees and his teeth clacking together loudly.</p><p>“I <i>am</i> wearing a jacket,” Futakuchi insisted.</p><p>“It doesn’t look very warm.”</p><p>“It’s a jean jacket, Tsukishima. It’s supposed to make you look good, not keep you warm.” Futakuchi rolled his eyes.</p><p>“Then maybe you should have worn another jacket over it,” Tsukishima snapped back, not a big fan of the way Futakuchi was talking down to him.</p><p>“And ruin the whole outfit?” Futakuchi scoffed. “I don’t think so.”</p><p>At that point, Tsukishima almost just turned around and ignored the whole thing. If Futakuchi wanted to freeze his stupid ass off, that wasn’t his problem. Except… Futakuchi really did look pathetic, sitting there shivering in nothing but his ridiculous jean jacket, camp t-shirt, and black skinny jeans. But despite all that, he still kept his chin tilted upwards, refusing to show anything but a prideful face.</p><p>And, well, Tsukishima could kind of respect that.</p><p>Tsukishima himself was dressed in jeans and a hoodie, but Sugawara had warned him that it was going to be pretty chilly that night, so he also had a blanket wrapped around his shoulders. With a sigh, he unwrapped part of the blanket and held it out to Futakuchi. “Here.”</p><p>At the sight of Tsukishima offering to share his blanket with him, Futakuchi’s jaw nearly dropped, but the look of shock was quickly replaced with something much more amused.</p><p>“Wow, Tsukishima,” Futakuchi said as he took the corner of the blanket offered to him and slid closer to Tsukishima’s side. “Who know you could be so cute?”</p><p>It was probably just their proximity, Tsukishima reasoned, that had his cheeks feeling like they were on fire when Futakuchi said that. It was probably just because they were so close, Tsukishima could feel the breath from the words tickle the bridge of his nose.</p><p>“I’m not cute,” he grumbled. “I was just getting sick of listening to your teeth chattering.”</p><p>Futakuchi laughed, and it was just as musical and pleasing as every other child of Aphrodite’s was. Tsukishima felt his cheeks grow even hotter, almost painfully so, when Futakuchi smirked at him, a teasing little curl of his lips.</p><p>“Definitely cute,” he declared, and that was the end of that conversation.</p><p>Tsukishima was far from comfortable with the situation at first. A few times he considered just giving Futakuchi his blanket all to himself so that they wouldn’t have to sit so close together anymore. He didn’t like letting just anyone into his personal space, and he couldn’t help but wonder what had possessed him to offer in the first place. It was the kind of warm, friendly gesture that Sugawara or Bokuto would have made, not him. And yet, here he was.</p><p>After a few songs though, Tsukishima started to relax. He and Futakuchi didn’t really talk again, and the son of Aphrodite didn’t do anything to make it weird. They were just about the same height, so there was no tugging or pulling at the blanket to make sure it covered them both, their shoulders matched up perfectly. Futakuchi’s thigh was warm where it pressed against his, and his voice was soft and lilting as he sang along with Semi. Tsukishima found himself surprisingly comfortable with the whole situation by the end of the night.</p><p>So comfortable, that it felt perfectly natural for him to walk with Futakuchi all the way back to the Aphrodite cabin, with the blanket still wrapped around both of their shoulders.</p><p>He was well aware of the suggestive looks and eyebrow raises some of the other campers gave them, but Tsukishima was never too concerned with what other people thought of him. If he wanted to be a decent person and keep Futakuchi warm until he got back to his cabin, that was his business.</p><p>Futakuchi delicately shrugged himself out of Tsukishima’s blanket once they reached the Aphrodite cabin, taking his corner and wrapping it the rest of the way around Tsukishima’s body, so that both corners met in the middle of his chest. He held them there together for a quiet beat, before smiling at Tsukishima and patting him gently, then taking a step back.</p><p>“Well, this was surprisingly nice.”</p><p>“Yeah, it kinda was,” Tsukishima agreed. “Well, uh, I guess I’ll see you around?”</p><p>He didn’t know why he phrased it like a question. No doubt they would see each other around, the same way they have been for the past seven years. They were both year-rounders, it was pretty much inevitable that they'd run into each other. But would they talk to each other? Even acknowledge each other at all? It seemed highly unlikely, since they never really had before.</p><p>Tsukishima found himself weirdly kind of bummed about that.</p><p>“Sure. See you around,” Futakuchi repeated, sounding a little bummed himself. Tsukishima turned to go, but stopped when Futakuchi suddenly blurted: “The older kids in my cabin used to tell stories about when you first came to camp.”</p><p>Tsukishima turned back slowly, with a small frown. “Why?”</p><p>Futakuchi shrugged helplessly. “We like to gossip. It’s how we know everything about everyone at camp.”</p><p>Tsukishima shouldn’t ask. He shouldn’t bother asking, he should just say goodnight and go back to the Athena cabin and not worry about it anymore. But there was something in the way that Futakuchi’s eyes were shining in the firelight that just pushed him to know…</p><p>“What did they say?”</p><p>Futakuchi smiled at him like that was the right answer. “When you first showed up, they all thought you were like Oikawa.” Tsukishima snorted. “I’m serious! They all said there was no way that Tsukishima Kei, tall and graceful, with his golden curls and his wide, dripping-honey eyes wasn’t a son of Aphrodite.” Futakuchi chuckled. “You sure showed them, huh?”</p><p>Tsukishima took a moment to answer, because he was pretty sure if he tried to speak right away, he would just choke on his words. He was a bit mortified. Shocked. Not sure if he wasn’t actually asleep or hallucinating right now.</p><p>Because in all of his fifteen years of living, Tsukishima had never heard himself described like that. Not by anyone. Tsukishima didn’t even know he <i>looked</i> like that. He didn’t think much about what he looked like, but when he did, not a single one of those words came to mind. Except for ‘tall’, maybe. Tsukishima felt, perhaps, a little bit desirable.</p><p>And the look in Futakuchi’s eyes was telling him that he wasn’t wrong.</p><p>“Guess I didn’t care enough about jean jackets,” Tsukishima joked, but his throat felt dry and tight and his voice came out a little higher pitched than usual. Futakuchi laughed, and Tsukishima couldn’t remember ever hearing a more wonderful sound. He walked closer, and the way they were positioned, with Tsukishima already having gone down the step to the cabin, he had to tip his head back to look the son of Aphrodite in the eye.</p><p>“I’m glad they were wrong.” Futakuchi placed a finger beneath Tsukishima’s chin and tilted his head back even further. “Do you want to know why?”</p><p>Tsukishima swallowed hard and he knew Futakuchi could see it with how far back his head was angled. “Why?”</p><p>“It’ll make it much less weird when I ask if I can kiss you.”</p><p><i>Yes,</i> Tsukishima’s brain screamed. He wanted that - he knew he wanted that. He didn’t know how or why or what it meant, but he knew that he wanted more than anything for Futakuchi Kenji, who he had never had the desire to kiss before in the seven years that he had known him, to kiss him right now.</p><p>And then, the overthinking started. And the panic set in.</p><p>This was Tsukishima’s first kiss. He had never done this before, he didn’t even have the foresight so plan for it! Maybe, if he knew this was going to happen, he could have studied up. He could have asked Sugawara for advice, or maybe even Daishou, he had a girlfriend. He could have read books, or watched movies. On an empirical level, Tsukishima <i>knew</i> what kissing should be like, should look like, but he didn’t - </p><p>“Tsukishima?” Futakuchi sounded concerned. “It’s okay if you don’t want to.” He started to withdraw his hand and Tsukishima’s panic began to spiral.</p><p>“I’ve never done this before!” He blurted, feeling his face set ablaze. Futakuchi froze, fingers still pressed delicately underneath Tsukishima’s chin. Then, his eyes and his smile softened like melted butter.</p><p>“That’s okay,” he assured Tsukishima in a low, sweet voice that curled around his nerves and soothed them like a cooling balm. Distantly, Tsukishima wondered if that was a skill of all children of Aphrodite, or just a Futakuchi thing. “Don’t be nervous. Just close your eyes.”</p><p>Tsukishima knew exactly what would happen if he closed his eyes right now.</p><p>With a shuddering exhale, Tsukishima let his eyelids flutter shut.</p><p>Kissing, he thought, was a little bit like reading ancient Greek. For demigods, reading Greek was something that they were just inherently able to do, the same way their muscles were hardwired for combat. Nobody ever taught Tsukishima how to read ancient Greek, but when he was faced with the foreign letters dancing across a page, his mind sorted them into order and made sense out of them with no effort on his part at all. It was instinct. </p><p>Kissing felt like instinct.</p><p>Or maybe it was just because Futakuchi was so good at it, Tsukishima didn’t even have the presence of mind to think too much about it.</p><p>When Futakuchi did finally pull away, Tsukishima felt like he took all of his breath with him. His lips were still tingling with the phantom press of Futakuchi’s soft lips against them, and with his eyes still closed, he took a few calming breaths.</p><p>And then, Futakuchi flicked him right in the center of the forehead. Hard.</p><p>“Hey! What the hell?” Tsukishima’s eyes flew open, scowling as Futakuchi grinned down at him.</p><p>“Come find me tomorrow for lesson two, okay?” The son of Aphrodite smirked wickedly as he backed away. “If you liked that, you’re gonna lose it when I teach you how to use tongue.”</p><p>Tsukishima stood in front of the Aphrodite cabin for an embarrassingly long time after Futakuchi had gone back inside.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Tsukishima and Futakuchi made out a grand total of nine times before they started dating.</p><p>It wasn’t always easy to find the privacy to do it, but over the next few weeks they made it work. They snuck out of their group training activities to make out under the dock at the lake, and they skipped mealtimes to make out in their cabins because they knew all of their siblings would be at the dining pavilion. They made out hidden behind the stables (didn’t smell great), and they made out in the sand on the beach (too messy), and they made out underneath the big pine tree that marked the camp’s boundaries when it was all lit up for the holidays at midnight on Christmas Eve (that time worked out perfectly).</p><p>Then one morning, after they spent probably an hour or so kissing in Tsukishima’s bunk while all his siblings were at breakfast, Futakuchi propped himself on his elbow and asked, “Hey Kei, have you ever dated a guy before?”</p><p>Tsukishima shook his head. “No.”</p><p>A nearly blinding grin took over Futakuchi’s lovely features. “So I’ll be your first for that, too?”</p><p>Tsukishima blinked up at him, head cocked to the side curiously. “Are we dating?”</p><p>“We will be if you say yes.”</p><p>As Tsukishima had gotten into the habit of when it came to Futakuchi Kenji, he said ‘yes’.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Hello? Earth to Tsukki, do you copy? Aw, shoot, did I accidentally drop the call again?”</p><p>Kuroo’s slightly tinny voice and muffled fumbling from the other end of the Iris call broke Tsukishima out of his thoughts.</p><p>It had taken Kuroo a little while to get used to the fact that it was too dangerous for demigods to use modern technology, since monsters are attracted to even just the sound of their voices traveling through airwaves, but he was slowly getting the hang of it. He hardly ever dropped the calls anymore. </p><p>Tsukishima liked getting his letters, but Iris messages were a quick and effective way for them to talk. You simply dropped a golden drachma into some water as an offering to Iris, the Goddess of rainbows, and the person you wanted to contact would appear in the mist in front of you.</p><p>It was effective, that is, when the person you were talking to wasn’t too absorbed in their own thoughts to pay any attention to what you were saying.</p><p>He grinned apologetically at the shimmering image of his friend in the water, little translucent rainbows streaked through his dark mane of hair. “No, sorry, Kuroo. Could you repeat the last thing you said again?”</p><p>Kuroo smiled, and maybe it was a trick of the rainbow, but it didn’t seem to reach his eyes.</p><p>“Considering that this is the third time you’ve had to ask me that in our twenty minute conversation so far, I’d say I’m not wrong in asking: Is something wrong?”</p><p>“What? No. Why?” The words tumbled out, tripping over each other, and Tsukishima knew they sounded too defensive. Kuroo sighed and ran a hand through his hair, making it stand up at even odder angles.</p><p>“You just seem pretty lost in your thoughts over there. Is there anything you wanna talk about?”</p><p>Tsukishima tasted bitter guilt on the back of his tongue. Kuroo was right, Tsukishima was lost in his thoughts, but it wasn’t anything he wanted to talk to Kuroo about, which was exactly why he couldn’t stop thinking about it.</p><p>He and Futakuchi had been dating for almost five months now, and Tsukishima still hadn’t told Kuroo about it.</p><p>There was no logical reason why he shouldn’t. Kuroo was his best friend, he had been telling him about practically everything that happened in his life for two years now. They spent their entire summers together, and Iris messaged with each other at least once a week whenever Kuroo was away at school. Tsukishima never had a problem figuring out what to say to Kuroo before. Everything from, <i>’I broke my pinky playing capture the flag yesterday’,</i> to, <i>’I saw Sugawara grab Daichi’s ass the other day and now I can’t look my older brother in the eye’,</i> Tsukishima told Kuroo it all.</p><p>He hadn’t mentioned Futakuchi’s name once in his calls with Kuroo since that first time they kissed.</p><p>It was stupid, but every time he even thought about telling Kuroo, his throat closed up and the words wouldn’t come out. His heart would start beating erratically, palms sweating, and he didn’t have a name for the feeling, but he knew he didn’t like it. So he just didn’t say anything at all.</p><p>“Everything is fine, really. I must have just gotten hit too hard on the head when I was sparring with Nishinoya yesterday.” It was partially the truth. For someone so short, the son of Hermes was exceptionally savage in a fight.</p><p>“It’s been a few months now.”</p><p>Tsukishima blinked at him. “Huh?”</p><p>“You’ve been acting all spacey for a few months now, Tsukki,” Kuroo explained, sounding a little sad.</p><p>A few months. So Kuroo had noticed the change in Tsukishima the moment it happened. He really did know him well, didn’t he?</p><p>“Have I?” Tsukishima asked faintly. Kuroo frowned.</p><p>“You know you have. Is it… Is it me? Did I do something to make you mad at me, or, or not want to be my friend anymore?”</p><p>“No!” Tsukishima shouted, disturbing the water so much that the call almost dropped. “Gods, no, Kuroo, don’t be stupid. That’s not it at all.”</p><p>Kuroo sagged, relief visible on his face. “Okay, then it can’t be that bad, right?”</p><p>Tsukishima paused, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth. Now. He could do it now. Kuroo was giving him a perfect opening, and he owed his friend an explanation after being so shitty and making him worry all these months.</p><p>But, as always, when he looked into Kuroo’s piercing gold eyes, he just couldn’t do it.</p><p>“I’ll tell you when you get back,” Tsukishima said. “In person.”</p><p>“Alright,” Kuroo said slowly. “That actually works out pretty well, because there’s something I need to tell you in person, too.”</p><p>Tsukishima felt his heart rate pick up, like whenever someone told him Chiron was looking for him and he got nervous about all the things he hadn’t even done wrong.</p><p>“Okay,” Tsukishima said quietly. “It’s a deal, then.”</p><p>Kuroo grinned. “Deal. Now you owe me at least another half hour of your full and undivided attention, Smart Ass.” Over the years, Kuroo’s nickname for Tsukishima had matured along with them.</p><p>“What do you wanna talk about?”</p><p>Tsukishima saw the shimmering image of Kuroo settling back in his seat, getting comfortable. “Read any good books lately?”</p><p>They spent almost two full hours like that, with Kuroo listening and nodding along as Tsukishima rambled on and on about the latest book he read on dinosaur paleobiology. He knew that Kuroo didn’t understand a word of what he was saying, but they’d been doing this since the first year Kuroo left. It was part of their routine. When they ran out of things to talk about that were going on in their lives, Kuroo would ask Tsukishima what he’d been reading. Last year, he’d sat through hours of Tsukishima telling him about the similarities and differences between ancient Greek and Roman linguistics. Lately, he was pretty into prehistoric archaeology.</p><p>Kuroo didn’t care about any of those things, but he sat back for hours and just listened to Tsukishima talk.</p><p>Tsukishima knew he could talk to Kuroo about anything, but not his new boyfriend. Reasoning behind that logic still pending.</p><p>Not long after Kuroo and Tsukishima ended their call, Tsukishima was lounging on his bed reading when Futakuchi came in and flopped down on top of him.</p><p>“Hey,” Tsukishima greeted, carding his fingers through his boyfriend’s impossibly soft hair.</p><p>“Hey, you.” Futakuchi propped his chin up on Tsukishima’s chest, looking up at him with curious hazel eyes. “Whatcha been up to all afternoon?”</p><p>“Reading.” He held up his book as proof.</p><p>“You’ve just been reading this whole time?” Futakuchi asked.</p><p>“Yup.”</p><p>The lie was the worst thing Tsukishima had ever tasted.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Today’s the day, right?” Sugawara asked Tsukishima over breakfast a few weeks later with a bright smile. </p><p>Tsukishima returned it and nodded. “Last night Akaashi told me their bus would get in around noon.”</p><p>“Thank the Gods,” Sugawara pressed a dramatic hand to his forehead. “Raising you alone during your rebellious teenage phase was getting to be too much for my poor heart to handle.”</p><p>“I am not in a ‘rebellious teenage phase’. And you’re not my mom!” Tsukishima scowled, feeling his cheeks heat up when Sugawara just laughed at him.</p><p>“That scary face may work on other people, but you still just look like a pouty kid to me,” he teased, pinching one of Tsukishima’s cheeks and cooing obnoxiously.</p><p>“Ew, get off!” Tsukishima batted him away, but couldn’t completely fight off the laugh that was starting to bubble up in him. Being around Sugawara just had that effect on him, making him feel light and carefree as a child again.</p><p>“And you are so a rebellious teenager now,” Sugawara continued. “I mean, look at this! You have a <i>hickey!”</i> He screeched, pointing right at Tsukishima’s neck.</p><p>“Shut up!” Tsukishima hissed, tugging his collar up and feeling his face flood with warmth. He had been paying Kita from the Hecate cabin in smuggled candy bars for a special mixture that hid hickies instantly. He must have missed one when he put it on this morning. A few of his siblings snicker at him, and even a couple kids at the Apollo table next to them join in. “You are so embarrassing,” he informed his older brother.</p><p>“I love you, too, Kei.” Sugawara ruffled his hair. Suddenly, his teasing expression grew concerned. “So what are you gonna do when all your friends get back?”</p><p>“What do you mean? I’m gonna do the same thing I do every summer.”</p><p>“He means,” Daishou butt-in, “How are you going to balance spending time with them and your little boy toy all summer?”</p><p>“He’s not my ‘boy toy.’” Tsukishima rolled his eyes.</p><p>“Good point. You’re more like his.” Daishou snickered, just barely dodging when Tsukishima aimed a forkful of eggs at his stupid face.</p><p>“You sound a little jealous there, Daishou. Did Mika finally come to her senses and break up with you again?”</p><p>Daishou’s face flushed scarlet, and Tsukishima did feel a little bad about dealing such a low blow. Whatever, they would be back together by the end of the week anyways.</p><p>“Brat,” Daishou grumbled, turning his back on them. Sugawara sighed and Tsukishima knew it was aimed at him. Fifteen years old, and he still felt the disappointment weighing heavy on his chest.</p><p>“You’re too smart to let him rile you up like that, Kei.”</p><p>“Evidently, not.”</p><p>“Yes, you are,” Sugawara insisted stubbornly. “Which means that something is really bothering you. Is it something we said?”</p><p>Tsukishima shoved another bite of his food in his mouth and didn’t answer. Of course what they said had bothered him. It had reminded him of exactly the thing he had been worrying about for weeks now.</p><p>Normally, he waited all year for Akaashi, Bokuto, and Kuroo to come back from school so they could spend practically every waking moment of their summer together. But lately, he had been spending practically all of his free time with Futakuchi - who none of them even knew he was dating. Would he have to divide his time between them, or would Futakuchi want to hang out with Tsukishima and his friends? Would his friends even like Futakuchi? Akaashi got along pretty well with everyone at camp, and Bokuto was obviously happy to be friends anyone, but what about Kuroo? And his other friends, too?</p><p>“Nothing is bothering me. I’m happy they’re coming back today.”</p><p>“Oh, yeah,” Sugawara said sarcastically. “It really sounds like it. Please, try to contain your excitement, you’re making a scene.”</p><p>“What do you want me to say?” Tsukishima snapped. “That I’m nervous because I have no idea how my friends are going to react to my boyfriend because they don’t even know I’m dating him yet?”</p><p>Sugawara blinked at him, expression carefully neutral. “You haven’t told them yet?”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“None of them?”</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Not even Akaashi?”</p><p>“I said <i>no!”</i></p><p>“Alright, okay.” Sugawara held up his hands in defense. “I wish I could be more help, but I’m sure there’s nothing I can say to you right now that you haven’t already thought of yourself. That’s the trouble with having such a brilliant little brother, isn’t it? You always want to help, but sometimes you don’t know how.” He smiled at Tsukishima with sad eyes.</p><p>Pushing his food around on his plate, Tsukishima averted his eyes and said quietly, “You could still try.”</p><p>A hand came up to rest on his shoulder, squeezing gently. “All I’ll say is this: If they all care about you as much as I know they do, it shouldn’t be a problem at all. Okay?”</p><p>“Yeah,” Tsukishima felt some of the tightness in his chest that had been suffocating him for a while now loosen. He darted a glance over to the Aphrodite table, where Futakuchi was practically falling asleep in his yogurt, hair still slightly sleep-mussed. He looked up and caught Tsukishima’s eye like he could feel him looking, and gave him a wink and a little wave. Tsukishima smiled back. “You’re right. Thanks, Suga.”</p><p>“Ah,” Sugawara wiped a fake tear from his eye. “My favorite words.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Even though their bus got in at noon, it was still a bit of a walk from the stop all the way up to Camp Half Blood, so it was almost one o’clock by the time the unmistakable form of Bokuto was charging across Half Blood Hill, waving his arms animatedly in the air and shouting, “I’M BAAAACK!”</p><p>There were two other figures trailing behind him, and Tsukishima’s heart did a funny stutter when he recognized the taller one with the messy hair as Kuroo. He was just still getting used to seeing him again, whereas he had years of practice with Bokuto and Akaashi by now.</p><p>“Tsukki!”</p><p>Tsukishima barely had time to protect himself before two big arms - oh, wow, really big arms? - were latching around his waist and swinging him around in the air. Gods, Bokuto had gotten even stronger than he was before. How was that possible? Tsukishima was pretty sure that if he wanted to, Bokuto could have tossed him all the way across camp from here.</p><p>“Gods, Bokuto,” he wheezed as he was put back on the ground. “You’re really gonna break my spine one of these days, you idiot.”</p><p>“Oops, sorry!” The son of Zeus laughed, and when he stood straight up Tsukishima realized something that made his lips curl into a triumphant smirk.</p><p>“I’m taller than you!” He declared. Finally, after years of listening to Sugawara promise him he would be the tallest of them all, he had something to show for it.</p><p>“What?” Bokuto’s jaw dropped comedically. “Nuh uh, no way! Akaashi!” he turned around and shouted. “Hurry up and get over here! I need you to tell Tsukki he isn’t taller than me!”</p><p>“Bet ya he is!” A voice that was decidedly not Akaashi’s shouted back. Tsukishima’s stomach did a funny flip at the sound of Kuroo’s raspy, teasing voice. It was one thing to notice how much deeper it had gotten over Iris message, but it was another thing entirely to hear it in person.</p><p>Kuroo walked right up to him, hideous cat-print bag slung over his shoulder, hands tucked into his tattered jeans, and a crooked grin on his face.</p><p>“Um. Hey.” Tsukishima mentally punched himself in the throat for how stupid he sounded. </p><p>Kuroo just laughed, grin spreading full. <i>”Um. Hey,”</i> he repeated in a ridiculous impression of Tsukishima’s voice. “Gods, you’re such dork. Get over here.” He took his hands out of his pockets to spread his long arms wide and Tsukishima stepped closer to let the older boy hug him tight. “Missed ya.”</p><p>Tsukishima swallowed hard. “Missed you, too,” he whispered.</p><p>And after that, things fell right back into place. Akaashi came over and hugged him next, then confirmed, much to Bokuto’s dismay, that Tsukishima was, in fact, at least an inch taller than him now. He was even taller than Akaashi, which meant he only had to surpass Suna now to be the tallest kid in the Athena cabin.</p><p>He and Kuroo still met each other perfectly eye-to-eye when they measured.</p><p>“Should we all meet up after we’ve finished unpacking?” Akaashi suggested. Tsukishima thought he saw his eyes darting between him and Kuroo, but he could have been imagining it.</p><p>“Alright!” Bokuto agreed easily, grabbing both his and Akaashi’s bags off the ground and throwing them over his shoulders, speeding away, most likely to try and finish the boring work as soon as possible so they could start having fun.</p><p>Kuroo lingered after Akaashi had followed after Bokuto, hands shoved back in his pockets, rocking onto his heels. “I was actually just gonna unpack later tonight. Do you wanna go for a walk?”</p><p>Tsukishima’s palms started to sweat. He realized what this was. An obvious setup so that he and Kuroo could have a chance to talk alone.</p><p>Now. Tsukishima had to do it now.</p><p>“Yeah, sure.”</p><p>They took a path familiar to them both: Down to the lake, up the creek, past the armory and the stables, all the way to the strawberry fields. Kuroo cleared a spot and they both sat, the sun beating down on their heads and the grass soft beneath their fingers. Tsukishima glanced at Kuroo out of the corner of his eye and observed the way the sun’s rays cast sharp shadows across his jawline and the hint of his collarbones peeking out from his black t-shirt that was a few sizes too big for him.</p><p>Kuroo was handsome. Tsukishima wasn’t brain-dead, or blind. He knew his friend was good looking, the same way he knew that Akaashi had very pretty eyes, and Bokuto had an impressive physique, and Yamaguchi had a sweet smile.</p><p>But this time, he couldn’t help but notice all the ways that Kuroo was attractive in a very different way from Futakuchi. Less traditional, and more…off-beat. He felt guilty about it as soon as the intrusive thoughts hit, but he couldn’t stop himself.</p><p>The most glaringly obvious difference was the hair. Futakuchi’s soft brown hair was always so perfect, not a single strand out of place, and felt like silk waves when Tsukishima ran his fingers through it. Kuroo looked like he had just woken up from a three-day nap at all times. His hair was as dark as Tartarus, and just as untamed, too, sticking up at gravity-defying angles and falling over one of his eyes.</p><p>Futakuchi had a soft face, gentle angles, round cheeks. He was like a weirdly seductive cherub, or something. Kuroo was sharp and intense looking, like a feral cat. Futakuchi wore fitted shirts and jean jackets, Kuroo had obscure band names on his oversized shirts and threadbare holes in all of his pants. Futakuchi’s voice was smooth and warm like hot chocolate, and Kuroo’s was rough like gravel crunching under tires. Futakuchi’s hands were soft and delicate, his touches felt like feathers all across Tsukishima’s skin - <i>all</i> across his skin. Kuroo had more scars than Tsukishima cared to think about, and when he grabbed Tsukishima’s hands in excitement or pulled him into a hug, he was all push and pull with very little finesse at all.</p><p>Tsukishima didn’t know why he noticed these things. He just did.</p><p>“Do you wanna go first,” Kuroo suddenly broke the silence, “Or should I?”</p><p>“Me,” Tsukishima blurted before he could take it back. If he didn’t get it over with soon, he was going to drown in his own thoughts. This had been building up in him for too long. “I’m - I have a boyfriend.”</p><p>He expected a heavy weight to unload from his chest when he finally said the words out loud. </p><p>It didn’t.</p><p>Kuroo looked like someone had just dunked his head in a bucket of ice water.</p><p>“Oh, so you’re… Oh!” He repeated with more enthusiasm, smiling with too much teeth. “Wow, that’s - That is something, huh? Who, uh…” He licked his lips. “Who is it?”</p><p>“Futakuchi Kenji, from the Aphrodite cabin.”</p><p>Kuroo’s smile fell. “Oh. Hm.”</p><p>“What?” Tsukishima asked, feeling his hackles raise. “What’s wrong with that?”</p><p>“Nothing!” Kuroo said quickly. “Just, you know, isn’t he kind of a bitch?”</p><p>Tsukishima felt his blood start to simmer, ears ringing with the harsh word. “Why the hell would you say that?” He hissed. “I literally just told you that he’s my <i>boyfriend,</i> you jerk.”</p><p>Before they started dating, Tsukishima might have laughed and agreed with Kuroo’s assessment. Futakuchi wasn’t mean, he just wasn’t afraid to say what was on his mind, or go for what he wanted. Tsukishima always sort of admired that about him from afar, but now that he knew him even better, knew that Futakuchi really did have a kind heart underneath the veiled layer of “bitch”, he felt even more compelled to defend him. Plus, he was Tsukishima’s <i>boyfriend</i> so the only one allowed to call Futakuchi a bitch in his book was him.</p><p>“I didn’t mean it like that,” Kuroo backtracked, waving his hands in front of him, clearly noticing the dangerous shift in Tsukishima’s mood. “Just, y’know, don’t your personalities kind of…clash?”</p><p>“You mean because I’m a bitch, too?” Tsukishima narrowed his eyes, a little bit of red starting to creep in around the edges of his vision. He pondered if he would be able to decapitate Kuroo fast enough that he wouldn’t have time to summon the undead to protect him.</p><p>“No! Gods, this is coming out all wrong.” Kuroo scrubbed his hands over his face. “You can’t just spring this on me and expect me to know what to say!”</p><p>“You could have literally said anything but that.” </p><p>Kuroo flinched at the coldness of his voice.</p><p>“You’re right. I’m sorry, Tsukki.” He looked sincere enough that Tsukishima felt his anger start to ebb away. “I’m happy for you.”</p><p>Something about that statement brought Tsukishima back two years, when he first found out Kuroo was going to school with Bokuto and leaving camp. Tsukishima told him the very same thing sitting here in the strawberry fields. </p><p>He told Kuroo, “I’m happy for you.”</p><p>What he meant was, <i>I’m happy for you. Even if it’s hurting me, I’m happy that you’re happy.</i></p><p>“Just… Don't say anything like that again,” Tsukishima mumbled. Kuroo grinned and offered him his pinky.</p><p>“You have my word. I will only sing Futakuchi Kenji’s praises from this day onward.”</p><p>“Please don’t.” Tsukishima hooked their fingers together.</p><p>“Oh, I’m going to. Very loudly, at all hours of the day. I might even make him a sign or something, who knows. My arts and crafts skills are limitless.”</p><p>If Kuroo was still upset, he was hiding it incredibly well, his mischievous smile finally reaching his eyes and making them sparkle. Tsukishima grinned back and all of the tension sparking in the air dissipated completely. He was thankful for it, he really did hate to argue with Kuroo. Now, it felt like the weight had been lifted off his chest.</p><p>“Whatever. Didn’t you say you had something to tell me, too?” Tsukishima pointed out.</p><p>“Right.” Kuroo cleared his throat with a nervous laugh. “It feels kinda stupid now, after what you just told me.”</p><p>“It’ll definitely be stupid coming from you, so you might as well just tell me,” Tsukishima said, and Kuroo laughed, but it sounded forced.</p><p>“Can’t even cut a guy a break in his moment of weakness? You’re too cruel, Tsukki.”</p><p>“And you’re too slow.” Tsukishima nudged Kuroo’s knee with his, trying to silently show his friend support. “You didn’t accidentally kill a guy, did you?”</p><p>Kuroo snorted a laugh. “Not that I’m aware of.”</p><p>“Didn’t start cooking meth?”</p><p>“Oooh, not quite, but you’re getting warmer.”</p><p>“You’re selling your body for money, aren’t you? Must not be making very much.”</p><p>Kuroo broke into his obnoxious, uninhibited laugh that Tsukishima had grown so fond of, clutching his stomach and falling onto his back. Tsukishima peered down at him while he caught his breath, closing his eyes and smiling up into the sunlight. He looked peaceful like that, nothing like the anxious mess he was only moments before.</p><p>“How do you do that, Tsukki?” He asked without opening his eyes. Tsukishima’s nose wrinkled in confusion.</p><p>“Do what?”</p><p>“Make all the bad stuff in my head just…” Kuroo waved a hand dismissively. “Whoosh away.”</p><p>Tsukishima’s heart squeezed like there was too much blood rushing to it all at once, threatening to burst.</p><p>“‘Whoosh?’ Who are you, Hinata?” His voice come out a little thicker than he planned. He cleared his throat. “If it’s not any of those things, then it can’t be that bad, right? You said so yourself.”</p><p>Kuroo hummed, as if he was recalling the conversation. “You’re right. I did say that.”</p><p>“Of course I’m right.”</p><p>“Smart Ass.” Kuroo peeked one eye open to grin up at him.</p><p>“Death Breath.”</p><p>“I’m gay.”</p><p>“You’re - Oh.” Tsukishima paused. “Well, yeah. You’re greek.”</p><p>A little crease formed between Kuroo’s dark brows. “That’s not the same thing.”</p><p>Tsukishima shrugged. “It pretty much is.”</p><p>Kuroo sat up, openly frowning now. Tsukishima leaned back to give him room, confused at why Kuroo was getting upset with him.</p><p>“Why aren’t you acting like this is a big deal?”</p><p>“I didn’t know it was,” Tsukishima said honestly. He didn’t know a single person at camp who was one hundred percent straight. He didn’t even know a single God that was.</p><p>“Well it is to me!” Kuroo snapped.</p><p>“Okay!” Tsukishima didn’t know why they were both raising their voices now. He didn’t want to fight again. “Fine, it’s a big deal then!”</p><p>“Thank you!” Kuroo crossed his arms and huffed, looking away. Tsukishima pulled his knees to his chest, and took a deep breath. Snapping back at Kuroo right now wouldn’t do either of them any good. He needed to calm down and think carefully about what he was going to say next, because clearly he wasn’t reacting the way he should. Even if he didn’t understand it, he wanted to support Kuroo the way he needed right now.</p><p>“It’s okay, you know? Whether it’s a big deal or not, it’s okay.”</p><p>Kuroo was quiet for another moment. “I know it is. I didn’t mean to get angry. It’s not your fault, you just - You don’t really get it.”</p><p>Tsukishima felt an itching under his skin. He hated not ‘getting’ things.</p><p>“What don’t I get?”</p><p>“I mean,” Kuroo sighed. “You grew up here. Camp Half Blood is pretty much the only life you know, and maybe here being gay isn’t a big deal, but out in the real world, it kind of is.”</p><p>“I know that,” Tsukishima frowned.</p><p>“But you’ve never actually lived it, Tsukki. It’s a completely different feeling. It’s terrifying.” There was a look in Kuroo’s eyes then that told Tsukishima everything he needed to know about how scary that feeling was. He couldn’t argue with the fact that it was something he’d never be able to truly understand. </p><p>Tsukishima never gave his sexuality a second thought growing up at Camp Half Blood. He never even bothered putting a name to it. Some people he was attracted to, some people he wasn’t. He grew up seeing all kinds of relationships and types of love around him. He was luckier than he realized before now.</p><p>“You’re really brave, Kuroo.”</p><p>“Nah, you’re just saying that,” Kuroo grinned lopsided at him.</p><p>“You’re not going to get me to say it again,” Tsukishima huffed, his own grin breaking through.</p><p>“Ah, so cruel!” Kuroo declared dramatically. Then, his smile dimmed. “But I’m really not that brave. I think I’ve actually known that I’m gay since I was really little, but I always convinced myself that I wasn’t, and pushed it down because… Because I was too scared to have to tell my mom and sister.”</p><p>A flash of pain struck across Kuroo’s features like lightning. Tsukishima instinctively tangled their fingers together and held tight.</p><p>“My mom’s side of the family was always so traditional,” Kuroo continued, squeezing Tsukishima’s fingers gratefully. “And even though she never said anything about whether she accepted gay people or not, the chance that she might not, that she would never look at me the same way again… I couldn’t imagine anything scarier than coming out to my family. It’s funny because now, I’d give anything to be able to tell them.”</p><p>Tsukishima shifted closer, laying his head on Kuroo’s shoulder. They’d had conversations like this a few times over the past couple of summers. Kuroo didn’t like to talk about his mom and sister often, but Tsukishima found that when he did, it was sometimes better to just show Kuroo he was there with simple touches and listen than try to find the right thing to say. Because really, there was no right thing to say to the kid who watched his only family die right in front of him.</p><p>“I think,” Tsukishima started slowly after a few minutes of silence, “They would be just as proud of you as I am.”</p><p>Kuroo laughed wetly. “You’re proud of me, huh, Tsukki?”</p><p>“Just this once,” Tsukishima allowed.</p><p>“I just wish…” Kuroo trailed off with a heavy sigh, squeezing Tsukishima’s fingers once more before letting go. “I wish it hadn’t taken me so long,” he finished quietly.</p><p>“So you could have told them?” Tsukishima asked.</p><p>Kuroo looked over at him, resting his head in his arms with an unreadable look in his eyes. It took him a beat too long to answer, “Yeah. That’s it.”</p><p>It didn’t really sound like that was it though, and Tsukishima wanted to press further for an answer, but he never got the chance.</p><p>“Tsukki! Kuroo!” Bokuto suddenly appeared at the edge of the strawberry field with Akaashi at his side, bursting their quiet little bubble. “Come on, let’s go swimming before dinner!”</p><p>Kuroo stood first, offering Tsukishima his hand. “Any other big reveals you need to make before we go?”</p><p>“Nah,” Tsukishima took his hand. “I still wanna save a few more surprises to keep the rest of the summer interesting.”</p><p>“What do you mean?” Kuroo laughed, some of the afternoon sunlight getting caught in his eyes. “Summers are always interesting with us.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>It turned out that telling his friends about his boyfriend and the reality of the two worlds actually colliding was very different.</p><p>“So, you guys know Futakuchi?” Tsukishima asked casually while they were all swimming in the lake.</p><p>“Sure.” Bokuto spit water into the air like a Cupid fountain. “Pretty guy from the Aphrodite cabin with the hair?”</p><p>“That could literally be any of them,” Kuroo pointed out, floating on his back and baking in the sun’s rays. He was always the darkest out of them all by the end of the summer. Paired with his midnight hair and penetrating feline eyes, it always gave him a very intense and mysterious overall appearance.</p><p>But then he would open his mouth, and the illusion would shatter. That always made Tsukishima smile.</p><p>“No, no,” Bokuto disagreed. “Futakuchi is the one with <i>the</i> hair. I know what I’m talking about here, okay?”</p><p>“Okay, dude,” Kuroo snickered. Bokuto jumped on his stomach in retaliation and sank them both underneath the water. Tsukishima and Akaashi patiently waited for them to emerge again so Tsukishima could continue.</p><p>“As I was saying,” he said when the pair of idiots popped up with their hair plastered to their faces and stupid grins on their faces. “I’m dating him now. He’s my boyfriend. That’s all.”</p><p>Akaashi and Bokuto stared very hard at him like they were trying not to look somewhere else.</p><p>“Well,” Akaashi began slowly. “As long as he makes you happy, that’s all I care about.”</p><p>“Yeah!” Bokuto agreed. “Except, if he ever hurts you, I’m going to have to strike him through the heart with a lightning bolt. A hundred times, probably. So I should probably warn him about that.”</p><p>Tsukishima groaned. “Please, do not give my boyfriend the shovel talk like you’re my older brother or something.”</p><p>“Akaashi <i>is</i> your older brother, though, and I’m… Close enough! So that makes me ‘something’,” Bokuto declared proudly.</p><p>“Yeah, you’re something,” Tsukishima grumbled. “You’re dead in the water.” And then he dove below the surface, grabbed Bokuto by the ankles, and dragged him under.</p><p>So yeah, it went over pretty well.</p><p>And then, when they were walking back up from the lake, there was a sharp whistle from over at the Aphrodite cabin. All four boys swiveled their heads around to find Futakuchi perched up on one of the railings, kicking his feet and grinning wickedly at them.</p><p>“Oi, Tsukishima!” Futakuchi called. “Your boyfriend let you walk around looking like that?”</p><p>Everyone’s skin had still been still wet when they packed up to leave the lake, so they all had their shirts around their necks. It was just uncomfortable to put your clothes back on when you weren’t completely dry, everyone knew that. Tsukishima crossed his arms tightly across his bare chest and scowled, feeling his traitorous face heat up.</p><p>Futakuchi laughed and kicked off of the porch railing, landing gracefully on his feet and walking over to the group of them.</p><p>“You’re not funny,” Tsukishima informed his boyfriend primly when he got within hearing distance.</p><p>Futakuchi shrugged. “I laughed.” Then, he turned his attention to Akaashi, Bokuto, and Kuroo, sliding an arm around Tsukishima’s bare waist. “Hey, guys,” he said casually. “Welcome back.”</p><p>“Thank you,” Akaashi politely responded first. “I see things have changed quite a bit while we were gone.” He pointedly eyed the way Futakuchi was touching Tsukishima.</p><p>“Nah, nothing too interesting.” Futakuchi laughed. “Kei and I are old news at this point.”</p><p>“New news to us,” Kuroo said under his breath. Tsukishima wasn’t sure if anyone heard it except him, but he did feel Futakuchi’s arm tighten around him.</p><p>“Alright, I got a few things to say to you!” Bokuto pushed his way to the front of the group to shove a finger right in Futakuchi’s face. To his credit, Futakuchi barely even blinked.</p><p>“No,” Tsukishima groaned.</p><p>“First of all - “</p><p>“Bokuto, don’t - ”</p><p>“You have really nice hair.”</p><p>“ - you dare?” Tsukishima finished dumbly. Bokuto was nodding to himself very seriously, and Futakuchi looked like he was struggling to hold in a laugh.</p><p>“Why thank you, Bokuto. That means a lot, but I do have to remind you that I’m already seeing someone.”</p><p>“Oh, no,” Bokuto waved a hand dismissively. “No offense dude, but I’m not into you like that.”</p><p>“None taken…dude?” Futakuchi scrunched up his nose at the word.</p><p>“Second of all!” Bokuto thrust two fingers in the air. “If you ever so much as harm a single hair on our Tsukki’s head, I’m going to have no choice but to strike you through the heart with a lightning bolt. A hundred times!” He leaned in close to whisper, “Nothing personal, I’m just gonna have to do it.”</p><p>Futakuchi nodded sagely. “Understood. Was there anything else?”</p><p>“Hm.” Bokuto scratched his chin. “I don't know. Am I missing anything?”</p><p>“You could remind me that you know where I sleep,” Futakuchi offered helpfully.</p><p>“Right! Don't forget that I know where you sleep, buddy!” He paused. “Anything else?”</p><p>“I think that about covers it,” Futakuchi said.</p><p>“Okay, then I’m all good man!” Bokuto offered his fist for Futakuchi to bump. The son of Aphrodite stared at it for a few seconds, before delicately patting him on the top of his hand.</p><p>“You should clean your fingernails more often,” he said. When he pulled his hand away, Bokuto’s fingertips were sparkling like he’s just gotten a fresh manicure. Tsukishima couldn’t help but burst into laughter at the gobsmacked look on Bokuto’s face as he examined his nails, turning them back and forth in the sunlight with intrigue. Futakuchi grinned and moved his grip to take Tsukishima by the hand, gently tugging him away.</p><p>“Well, it was very nice seeing you all again, but if you don’t mind, I’m going to kidnap my boyfriend here for a little while before dinner. Maybe put some clothes on him or something.” He teased. Tsukishima let himself get pulled along, but turned back to wave to his friends over his shoulder.</p><p>“I’ll see you guys later?” He offered. Akaashi gave him a small smile and waved him off, while Bokuto was still too obsessed with his clean nails to even pay Tsukishima much attention. Kuroo’s lips lifted into a half grin, but his eyes were unreadable.</p><p>“Sure,” he said, and even his voice sounded off. “We’re all going to the campfire tonight, right?”</p><p>“Oh! You guys are going, too?” Futakuchi asked curiously. “Great, Kei and I will see you then!”</p><p>Kuroo’s half-grin turned into a no-grin, but Tsukishima was already being dragged too far away to try and explain.</p><p>He and Futakuchi always went to the campfires together. It was gross and sappy, but it was kind of their thing ever since they had gotten together at one. There was no way Kuroo could have known that, so it made perfect sense that he would assume Tsukishima was going to the campfire with him, Bokuto, and Akaashi, like he always used to.</p><p>Tsukishima should have prepared for that situation. He should have seen it coming.</p><p>“You really should clean your fingernails more often,” was the last thing he heard Akaashi saying before he was pulled into the Aphrodite cabin.</p><p>The door closed gently shut behind him, and he was immediately enveloped in sweet smells and plush carpeting under his feet. Futakuchi sat on his bunk and gestured Tsukishima closer, but stopped him after he took the first step. “Put your shirt on first. You’re very tempting and we don’t have that long until dinner.”</p><p>Tsukishima scoffed but did as he was told, walking over to stand between Futakuchi’s legs, resting his arms on his shoulders and crossing his wrists behind his head. He took a deep breath, in and out, and leaned into the embrace, trying to erase the lasting impression of the sucker-punched look on Kuroo’s face that was burned into the insides of his eyelids.</p><p>“You were nervous?” Futakuchi said quietly, rubbing soothing circles across Tsukishima’s lower back. “That’s why you didn’t tell them, right? You were worried we wouldn’t get along.”</p><p>“I guess so,” Tsukishima mumbled. It was an easy explanation. The simplest one. But it didn’t explain the stabbing feeling in his gut all those times he considered telling Kuroo and couldn’t. It wasn’t just nerves, it was something else that not even reading every medical book in the Apollo cabin could explain to him.</p><p>Futakuchi hummed thoughtfully. “It went okay, don’t you think? Not to brag, but I’m pretty good with people.”</p><p>“You’re actually extremely abrasive and honest to the point of bluntness,” Tsukishima pointed out with a small smile. Futakuchi looked up at him with a matching one, all soft and sweet around the edges.</p><p>“That’s why we work together, huh?”</p><p>“Yeah.” Tsukishima exhaled, letting Futakuchi pull him into a chaste kiss, and almost all of the tension bled from his body. </p><p>Just a little remained.</p><p>Right in the center of his chest.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Tsukishima had never known what Kuroo, Bokuto, and Akaashi looked like from across the campfire before that night.</p><p>It felt weird, and all sorts of inherently wrong, looking at them from a distance instead of sitting right beside them. Seeing the shadows of the flames flicker across their faces, and smoke making their edges look fuzzy and smudged. He only caught Kuroo’s eye once or twice, but he felt weirdly exposed tonight.</p><p>It wasn’t like Tsukishima and Futakuchi were the only couple sitting together. Oikawa and Iwaizumi had finally gotten together last summer, and Oikawa was practically sitting in his boyfriend’s lap like there was nobody else around. Sugawara and Daichi had their fingers interlocked between them, as Sugawara laughed at Daichi trying to keep Kageyama from lunging across the fire to strangle Hinata. Daishou and Mika were back together, just as Tsukishima had predicted. Even Yamaguchi had started sitting with the Apollo cabin lately, and Tsukishima had a feeling it had a lot more to do with Yachi Hitoka than Ennoshita’s precision-perfect marshmallow roasting skills.</p><p>The two of them hardly made a scene, sitting close with only their shoulders and thighs touching. Plus, Futakuchi was right earlier, the two of them were old news. People had whispered and watched them at first, but now they were paid barely any mind. He had sat at dozens of campfires with Futakuchi just like this for months now. He was perfectly used to it by now.</p><p>But he wasn’t used to Kuroo sitting right across from them.</p><p>“Semi! Sing us a love song!” One of the Aphrodite girls squealed when the current song was finished. Every female in the general vicinity voiced their very loud approval of the suggestion. Tsukishima wasn’t surprised - Semi Eita had an almost Aphrodite-like appeal over pretty much every person at camp, and had amassed a pretty big fan club.</p><p>Futakuchi scoffed under his breath. “How long until they realize that Semi Eita is about as attracted to girls as a brick wall?”</p><p>Tsukishima snorted a laugh, hiding his face in Futakuchi’s chest to muffle it. “Or that if any of them even lays a finger on him, Shirabu will curse them with bad bangs for the rest of their lives?”</p><p>“Yeah, Semi Semi!” Tendou, a very unlikely supporter, shouted over the high-pitched giggling. “Play us a <i>loooove</i> song, would ya?” He raised his eyebrows up and down exaggeratedly, and Tsukishima might have thought he was mocking the idea, if it wasn’t for the fact that he had a tiny yellow flower tucked behind his ear and his hand on Ushijima Wakatoshi’s knee. They weren’t actually together, as far as Tsukishima knew, but every time he asked Futakuchi about them, the son of Aphrodite just gave him a knowing grin and mimed zipping his lips shut.</p><p>“Hmmm,” Semi strummed his guitar in random patterns while he thought. A bright smile took over his devilishly handsome features. He could have been a famous rock star in another life. “Okay, I think I’ve got something you guys are gonna like,” he promised.</p><p>The first few notes of the song were so achingly beautiful, Tsukishima felt like his chest was caving in. It was some sort of slow, lullaby sounding tune, and when Semi started singing, in that low, crooning voice of his, Tsukishima felt his head drop to Futakuchi’s shoulder, so enraptured he could barely breathe.</p><p>
  <i>And only a teen when I thought that we could be</i><br/>
<i>It's a sign for you and me</i><br/>
<i>And your eyes so bright like the bluest sea</i><br/>
<i>And I felt like you, you would complete me</i>
</p><p>Tsukishima never much cared for love songs before this one. There was something about it that felt like it was reaching inside of Tsukishima’s chest and pulling out something he didn’t know was there. Like it was stripping him raw to the core and Semi was playing his heartstrings to the haunting melody.</p><p>Like an invisible pull, Tsukishima found his eyes traveling across the campfire and meeting Kuroo’s through the flames.</p><p>After that, like the music was holding him firmly in place, Tsukishima couldn’t look away. Kuroo didn’t either.</p><p>
  <i> 'Cause darling, I wanna be with you </i><br/>
<i> 'Cause baby, our love would always be true </i><br/>
<i> And I'll be waiting for our hearts to be one </i><br/>
<i> And it's rare that I've fallen so young </i>
</p><p>The last of the notes faded away, and as the spell the song cast over him lifted, Tsukishima forced his gaze away from Kuroo. He dragged it sharply to the side, and startled when he accidentally met Akaashi’s eyes. </p><p>And the look on his brother’s face - It was something Tsukishima had never seen before.</p><p>Akaashi normally kept up such a careful mask, his expression never giving away too much, so you never really know what was going on in his mind. Right now, though, maybe for the first time in his life, Tsukishima could read him perfectly.</p><p>He was scared.</p><p>All it took was a quick glance over at Bokuto to know what Akaashi was so afraid of. The son of Zeus looked like he had just been struck between the eyes with his own lightning bolt.</p><p>Something had happened between them during the school year. Tsukishima didn’t know exactly what is was, since both of them were pretty tight-lipped about the whole thing, but he did manage to squeeze a few details out of Kuroo during their Iris calls. The very basic overview that Tsukishima could piece together was this: </p><p>Bokuto had confessed his feelings to Akaashi, and Akaashi had returned them, but told Bokuto that he had no interest in getting into a relationship until he was older. So there they were, stuck in the most painful limbo Tsukishima had ever seen. He felt his brother’s pain so viscerally, that for a moment it almost distracted him from his own inner turmoil.</p><p>He had just listened to a love song with his head on Futakuchi’s shoulder and his eyes never leaving Kuroo.</p><p>Maybe he didn’t like that song so much after all.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Capture the flag started the next week.</p><p>On Thursday afternoon, the day before the first big game, Tsukishima found himself in his cabin on his bed with Futakuchi between his legs.</p><p><i>”Shit,</i> Kei,” Futakuchi hissed. “It’s so tight.”</p><p>“I know,” Tsukishima said through gritted teeth. “Could you - Can you please stop moving so much?” He gripped his boyfriend tighter to keep him still.</p><p>“Not really,” Futakuchi groaned, head falling forward. <i>“Yes,</i> okay, right there, shit that’s so good.”</p><p>“Hey, Tsukki, I got a great idea for - “ Kuroo came to a skidding half in the doorway, eyes blowing wide. “Uh, sorry, am I interrupting something?”</p><p>Futakuchi laughed through another groan of pain when Tsukishima dug his thumb into a knot of muscles in his back. “Just the greatest massage of all time. I pulled something in my shoulder at archery practice this morning, so Kei was working out some of the kinks for me.”</p><p>Kuroo raised an eyebrow. “Hidden talent?”</p><p>“Read a book on pressure points once. Figured I’d give it a try.” Tsukishima shrugged.</p><p>“A plus, babe. As usual.” Futakuchi twisted around to plant a congratulatory kiss on his cheek before sliding off the bed, stretching his arms over his head and exhaling happily. “Oh, that’s much better.” He gave Kuroo a head tilt. “Did you need something?”</p><p>“Oh,” Kuroo chuckled, scratching the back of his head. “Just needed to talk to Tsukki about an idea I had for the game tomorrow.”</p><p>“Ah,” Futakuchi nodded his head in understanding. “Probably best if you don’t reveal all your secrets in front of the enemy, huh?” He slipped his feet back into his shoes and pat Kuroo on the shoulder on his way out the door, blowing Tsukishima a kiss. “You boys have fun talking about your war strategies, I’m gonna go turn Shirabu’s eyebrows green and blame it on the Miya twins or something. It’s been too quiet around here lately.”</p><p>Once he was gone, Tsukishima unfolded his legs and climbed off the bed, stretching out as well. Kuroo still hadn’t made to move further into the cabin, which was odd since he had made himself at home here plenty of times before.</p><p>“Well?” Tsukishima put his hands on his hips. “Whatcha got for me, Death Boy?”</p><p>Kuroo’s face split into a dangerous grin.</p><p>“Come with me. I gotta show you something.”</p><p>For a brief, stupid second, Tsukishima felt nervous. He had seen Kuroo since the campfire the other night, but they hadn’t been left alone since The Love Song Incident - which Tsukishima had aptly named it in his mind. He had come to the simple conclusion that Semi put some kind of magic into the song as he played it, to make you unable to look away from the first person you locked eyes with. Tsukishima just happened to look at Kuroo at the wrong moment.</p><p>So really, there was no reason to be nervous. Kuroo must have come to the same conclusion on his own, and hadn't been acting weird at all since it happened. Why shouldn’t he do the same?</p><p>“Lead the way,” Tsukishima said, and where Kuroo went, he followed.</p><p>They ended up in at the edge of the forest, where the trees were still sparse, and Kuroo held him in place with firm hands on his shoulders.</p><p>“Okay,” he said. “Stay right here and wait.”</p><p>“Wait for what?”</p><p>“Trust me, you’ll know it when it happens.” Kuroo winked, then turned and started running deeper into the thicket of trees.</p><p>“Kuroo!” Tsukishima called after him. “What are you doing? You shouldn’t go in there alone!” The forest was usually crawling with monsters that the campers used for training. If Kuroo went in alone, and Tsukishima stood here waiting like an idiot while his friend got torn to shreds, he would never forgive him.</p><p>“Just trust me, it’ll be fine!” Kuroo waved over his shoulder. Tsukishima could do nothing but watch helplessly as he as he got further and further away, until he completely disappeared from sight. It felt like every one of Tsukishima’s senses was dialed up to a hundred, ears and eyes straining for any sign that Kuroo might be in trouble. Even the slightest breeze or rustle of the tree nymphs made his hair stand on end.</p><p><i>Kuroo can take care of himself,</i> Tsukishima reminded himself over and over again. <i>If he can survive fighting monsters and crawling his way through the Underworld, he can survive a measly little forest. He knows what he’s doing.</i></p><p>There was a flash of movement behind a tree and Tsukishima took a cautious step forward to get a better look.</p><p>“Kuroo? If this is a joke and you’re just trying to freak me out, I’m going to throw you in the fire as a sacrifice to the Gods, do you hear me?”</p><p>There was no response.</p><p>“Kur - “ Tsukishima faltered half a step back as the shadows in front of him suddenly seemed to bend and stretch around thin air. “Ah!” The darkness morphed into a wispy physical form, until it bled away, revealing the grinning face of Kuroo. Right in front of Tsukishima’s face.</p><p>“Ta-Da! Oh, crap!” Kuroo’s triumphant face quickly morphed into alarm as he suddenly realized how close he had jumped to Tsukishima. They seemed to suspend in mid-air for a second there, so close Tsukishima had to go cross-eyed to even see Kuroo’s face, the tips of their noses brushing and Kuroo’s hands coming up automatically to grab Tsukishima’s arms for balance. </p><p>And then, they went crashing to the ground, Kuroo’s overshoot of his jump taking Tsukishima down underneath him.</p><p>Kuroo did his best to catch himself with his elbows on either side of Tsukishima’s head, but their chests still collided and Tsukishima felt all of the breath in his lungs forcibly exit his body. He couldn’t breathe.</p><p>They were so damn close, every inch of their bodies pressed tightly together, and Tsukishima couldn’t fucking breathe.</p><p>“Oops,” Kuroo chuckled sheepishly and Tsukishima could feel his breath on his lips.</p><p>“Kuroo,” he said as calmly as he could manage. “Get the hell off of me. Now.”</p><p>“Alright, alright, I’m getting there - “</p><p>“Now!” Tsukishima repeated with much more force, borderline hysterical. His breath was coming in quick pants and every nerve ending on his body felt like it was being exposed to an open flame. Kuroo rolled off of him immediately, and Tsukishima could do nothing but lay there, staring up at the sky with his heart racing like a runaway Pegasus.</p><p>“Sorry, Tsukki. It was an accident, honestly. I just wanted to show you that I can finally Shadow Travel now!”</p><p>“Can you?” Tsukishima snapped. “Because that was a pretty fucking poor showing of it.”</p><p>Actually, it was pretty impressive. Kuroo had spent all of last summer working on his Shadow Traveling, and had never been able to get any further than from one side of the Hades cabin to the next. Maybe, if Tsukishima’s entire body didn’t feel like a live wire right now, he would have congratulated his friend.</p><p>“Woah.” Kuroo pushed himself up on his elbows with a frown. Tsukishima almost never cursed. He didn’t let himself lose his cool enough for it. “What’s the big deal? You’re not hurt that bad, are you?” He reached over, as if to check Tsukishima for injuries. To touch him again.</p><p>Tsukishima’s chest seized up.</p><p>“Stop!” Tsukishima sat up, head spinning and smacked Kuroo’s hand away. The other boy pulled back with a hurt expression. “Just stop, Kuroo, you can’t - I have a boyfriend now!”</p><p>Kuroo’s frown deepened, etched harshly into his dark features. “I’m well aware. What the hell does that have to do with anything?”</p><p>“We can’t - “ Tsukishima gestured vaguely between them. “We can’t do this anymore!”</p><p>The anger and confusion on Kuroo’s face shifted into a carefully neutral expression. “And what is it that we’re doing?”</p><p>“We just can’t - We can’t be so - So close!” Tsukishima sputtered. Just saying the words made it feel like the cage around his heart was splintering and cracking. Kuroo’s eyes widened a fraction before shuttering into something hard and closed off.</p><p>Tsukishima hadn’t seen Kuroo look like that since he first crash-landed at Camp Half Blood. The realization that he put that expression on his face made Tsukishima want to throw up, but his entire body felt so hollow, he wasn’t sure anything would even come out.</p><p>“So close?” The son of Hades repeated dully. “You don’t want us to be so close anymore?”</p><p>“I mean - I just mean, we shouldn’t be so touchy, and…and - “</p><p>“We haven’t done anything wrong, Tsukishima.” Kuroo cut him off bluntly. “You’re allowed to have a boyfriend and close friends, too. But if you feel like we have been doing something wrong? Well,” Kuroo shook his head, standing and refusing to look at Tsukishima again. “Maybe that’s something you need to figure out for yourself.”</p><p>Tsukishima had read about the physical symptoms of your body going into shock before. Feeling cold and sweaty all at once, rapid pulse, anxiety, confusion, nausea; Tsukishima was possibly going into shock in that moment, watching Kuroo walk away, completely frozen and unable to say or do anything else. To scream. To cry. Nothing.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Tsukishima didn’t sleep very well that night. Big surprise.</p><p>When it finally came time for the capture the flag game, Tsukishima was so irritable and on edge, he thought he must have misheard it when Sugawara announced that he and Kuroo were going to be guarding the flag together.</p><p>“Wait - what?” Tsukishima’s eyes flickered over to Kuroo and saw his jaw set unhappily. “I’m never on flag guarding duty.” He wasn’t a strong enough fighter to be on the last line of defense. Sugawara knew that.</p><p>Sugawara shrugged, looking between them with concern. “Kuroo told me the other day that he was going to work on some new plan with you, so I thought you two would want to work together. Is that a problem?”</p><p><i>Yes!</i> Tsukishima wanted to shout, but causing scenes wasn’t really his style.</p><p>“No problem,” he said quietly.</p><p>“Fine by me,” Kuroo agreed.</p><p>Neither of them had looked at each other once.</p><p>Sugawara looked like he wanted to say something, then suddenly remembered he had an entire capture the flag team’s eyes and ears on him, so he just gave Tsukishima a final look before moving on with the rest of the strategy.</p><p>Guarding the flag was not only the most important role in capture the flag, but it also involved the most standing around and waiting. In silence. With no company except for the other person guarding the flag with you.</p><p>Tsukishima and Kuroo were positioned on either side of the flag, their backs to each other, and not a single word between them. It was a miserable silence.</p><p>There was an apology sitting on the tip of Tsukishima’s tongue. He and Kuroo had argued before, and they’d gotten over it. Surely, they could just talk this thing out and move on.</p><p>But before the words could make it out of his mouth, Kuroo broke the silence.</p><p>“If someone gets through on your side, I guess we’ll know why.”</p><p>Tsukishima narrowed his eyes on instinct, even though Kuroo couldn’t see it with their backs to each other. “And why is that?”</p><p>He could imagine Kuroo shrugging. “Conflict of interests.”</p><p>“Are you - “ Tsukishima gaped. “Are you accusing me of conspiring with the other team against us?”</p><p>“I’m just saying, I wouldn’t be all that surprised.”</p><p>“You have got to be kidding me,” Tsukishima let out an incredulous laugh, all thoughts of apologizing disappearing. “Just because I’m dating Futakuchi, you think I’d try to sabotage my own team? I suppose you think Sugawara is plotting against us, too, since he’s dating Daichi? And Iwaizumi, right?”</p><p>“No,” Kuroo said simply. “Just you.”</p><p>“Why?” Tsukishima hissed.</p><p>“Everyone else seems to have no trouble keeping their relationships separate from other parts of their lives.”</p><p>Tsukishima’s grip on his sword tightened until he could feel the skin of his palm rubbing raw. Hot tears of frustration prickled at the backs of his eyes, his throat constricting painfully. He almost spun around to face Kuroo, but knew that if he looked away from his post, he’d only be proving Kuroo right.</p><p>Still, it was hard to keep a look out with tears blurring his vision.</p><p>That’s probably how they managed to catch him off guard.</p><p>Tsukishima barely had time to react before a body was dropping out of the trees above him and landing squarely on his back, knocking him to the ground. He groaned in pain, turning his face just in time to keep his glasses from getting smashed. The person on top of him rolled him over and pinned him down by straddling his chest, holding his arms down by his sides. Not that it really mattered, since he’d dropped his sword anyways.</p><p>When his spotty vision cleared enough, he saw a very familiar face beaming down at him.</p><p>“Hey cutie, you come here often?” Futakuchi laughed, and the air around Tsukishima seemed to grow lighter.</p><p>“Seriously?” Tsukishima huffed exasperatedly, but couldn’t keep the grin from tugging at his lips. He could almost forget all about fighting with Kuroo, if it wasn’t for the derisive snort he heard coming from the other boy’s direction.</p><p>“Gotcha,” Futakuchi declared, ducking down to kiss him on the tip of his nose. He pulled away barely an inch before grinning with all of his teeth and leaning back down to capture Tsukishima’s lips in a deep, open-mouthed kiss. Tsukishima was normally pretty adverse to public displays of affection, but his boyfriend’s kiss was admittedly pretty welcome after the day he’s had. So instead of pushing him away, he just sighed and gave up, relaxing into it.</p><p>“Nice distraction,” he breathed against his boyfriend’s lips. “But you only got half the job done. Kuroo can still - “</p><p>“I got it!”</p><p>Tsukishima blinked in surprise. Futakuchi winked down at him and sure enough, when he looked over, Hinata Shoyou was victoriously holding the Athena team’s flag over his head. Tsukishima couldn’t figure out how it had happened. Even if he had been taken out, Kuroo was still watching the flag. There’s no way he would have just let Hinata waltz past him that easily.</p><p>Except for, Kuroo didn’t have his eyes on the flag.</p><p>Because he had his eyes on Tsukishima and Futakuchi instead.</p><p>He looked a little bit like he was experiencing the physical symptoms of shock.</p><p>It was all but over now. They may have been able to take on Hinata in combat, but there was no chance in Hades that they would be able to catch him, he was easily the fastest person at camp. Futakuchi pumped his fists in the air, pressing a final kiss to Tsukishima’s slack lips, and running off to join his team’s celebration.</p><p>Tsukishima found himself for the second time in as many days laying on his back, not sure what had just happened. There was a lot of commotion, cheering from the Ares team and dismayed groans from theirs, off in the distance. Neither of he nor Kuroo said anything for a long while, remaining there in the silence they earned themselves, the truth clear enough that it didn’t need to be said with words.</p><p>Tsukishima and Kuroo had lost.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Your nose is doing that thing again.”</p><p>Tsukishima tore a tomato off the vine nearest to him with probably a little too much force. “What the hell are you talking about?” He asked Yamaguchi.</p><p>“You know, that thing you do!” Yamaguchi scrunched up his own nose in example, pointing to it. “Just like that, whenever you’re upset.”</p><p>“I don’t do that,” Tsukishima denied, though he could literally feel his own face making the same expression Yamaguchi just had. </p><p>“Lately, I’m getting worried that it’s going to get stuck like that forever.” He peered at Tsukishima with that painfully caring look of his. “Is everything okay with you and Futakuchi?”</p><p>“Of course it is.” Tsukishima tossed another tomato in Yamaguchi’s direction. The son of Demeter caught it easily and added it to the basket. They had a pretty solid system, since Tsukishima had been helping Yamaguchi with his harvesting for years now. Tsukishima didn’t even have to look to know he was aiming right for Yamaguchi’s dirt-smudged hands.</p><p>“And what about Kuroo?” Yamaguchi hedged carefully. Tsukishima pulled too hard and a fat tomato dropped to the ground at his feet, exploding and leaking juices and seeds all over.</p><p>“Shit!” He cursed, bending over. “Sorry, I’ll clean it up.” </p><p>Yamaguchi put a gentle hand over Tsukishima’s to stop him, guiding him back upright. “It’s okay, Tsukki, don’t worry about it.”</p><p>“It slipped.”</p><p>“That’s alright, it happens sometimes,” Yamaguchi assured him gently, in a placating voice you would use on a child.</p><p>“Why - “ Tsukishima swallowed painfully. “Why would you ask me about Kuroo specifically? I have other friends, you know.”</p><p>“I know,” Yamaguchi said patiently. “But you haven’t been avoiding your other friends like a plague of locusts.”</p><p>Tsukishima stared down at the sticky mess at his feet, trying not to make it too obvious that he was trying not to look Yamaguchi in the eye. It was harder to lie to him when you looked right into those sweet and honest eyes of his, and Tsukishima wasn’t sure how to admit to his friend that he was doing that “thing” with his nose because Kuroo had started sitting on the other side of the Big Three table at mealtimes.</p><p>There was no assigned seats in the dining pavilion or anything, as long as you didn’t sit at another God’s table, you could sit wherever you wanted. Kuroo always used to sit on the side of the Big Three table that faced the rest of the pavilion, so that whenever Tsukishima looked up, he could see Kuroo looking right back at him. Now, Kuroo had switched his usual seat to the other side of the table, so that all Tsukishima saw when he looked over was the back of his head.</p><p>It was a million little things like that over the past few weeks that were making him so miserable. Kuroo, always mysteriously having something else to do whenever Akaashi and Bokuto were hanging out with Tsukishima in the Athena cabin. The fact that on the rare occasion that Kuroo <i>did</i> speak to him, he called him “Tsukishima” instead of “Tsukki”. He had never hated his proper name more in his life. Or the way the Athena team hadn’t won a single game of capture the flag all summer. That one definitely stung, especially since it was pretty obvious to everyone else on the team whose fault it was.</p><p>There were the pitying looks from Sugawara and the rest of his older siblings, and the invisible wedge that Tsukishima could feel himself driving between him and Futakuchi with his own unhappiness that had nothing to do with his boyfriend. Most of all, there were all the unanswered questions taking up so much space in Tsukishima’s head, it felt like his skull was going to burst from all the pressure. Things he did and said and felt that he still had absolutely zero explanation for.</p><p>“Tsukki?” Yamaguchi said softly, squeezing his wrist.</p><p>“We are mutually avoiding each other, actually.” Tsukishima laughed wetly, feeling tears start to pool dangerously in his eyes. “Since he hates me, and I prefer not to look at him hating me.”</p><p>“Oh, Tsukki.” Yamaguchi sounded like he wanted to hug Tsukishima, but knew how much he would probably hate it. “I don’t think Kuroo could ever hate you.”</p><p>“You didn’t hear the things we said to each other.”</p><p>“No,” Yamaguchi agreed thoughtfully, “But I have seen how miserable you’ve both been without each other.”</p><p>Tsukishima frowned. “You’re a nice person, right Yamaguchi?”</p><p>The son of Demeter laughed. “Yeah, I like to think I am.”</p><p>“What would you do if you accidentally broke someone’s heart?”</p><p>“I would do everything I could to try to fix it.”</p><p>“And what if - “ Tsukishima choked, tears finally spilling. “What if it was your own?”</p><p>Tsukishima had never read a book on the physical symptoms of heartbreak, but he thinks that maybe this is it. This is the answer he’d been looking for that he couldn’t find in any medical books. The aching, the longing, the confusion and pain.</p><p>Apparently deciding that he couldn't hold himself back any longer, Yamaguchi threw his sun-freckled arms around Tsukishima and yanked him into a fierce hug. Tsukishima was reminded for about the thousandth time why Yamaguchi was his oldest and closest friend at Camp Half Blood. Sometimes, he just knew things that Tsukishima didn’t even have to say.</p><p>Tsukishima was fifteen now, so he didn’t cry much in front of people anymore, but Yamaguchi didn’t really count.</p><p>“I would try to fix that one, too,” Yamaguchi whispered, and he smelled like wet soil and sunscreen and comfort. “You’re the smartest person I know, Tsukki. If something is making you unhappy, I know you’ll find a way to make it better.”</p><p><i>Wrong,</i> Tsukishima thought. <i>I have no idea how to fix this.</i></p><p>Still, the words were a little comforting, as were the familiar smells clinging to Yamaguchi’s skin and his friend’s arms wrapped around him. Yamaguchi didn’t always have the answers to Tsukishima’s problems, but he did always have this.</p><p>“You’re hurting my back,” he grumbled into Yamaguchi’s shoulder, hunched over slightly to accommodate the shorter boy’s hug.</p><p>Yamaguchi just laughed, “Sorry, Tsukki!”, but didn’t let go.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Kuroo wasn’t at dinner that night, which kind of threw a wrench in Tsukishima’s plan to try and make up with him and get things back to normal.</p><p>“He’s probably packing.”</p><p>“What?” Tsukishima gave Akaashi a confused look. His brother nodded over to the Big Three table, where he had evidently caught Tsukishima staring.</p><p>“You’re looking for Kuroo, aren’t you?” He didn’t wait for Tsukishima to answer. “He’s probably in his cabin packing for his quest tomorrow.”</p><p>The entire world around Tsukishima felt like it came to a screeching halt.</p><p>“His what?” </p><p>Akaashi gave him a pitying look, and Tsukishima hated it. He hated it so much because it meant he had heard right. “It’s actually Kita’s quest, but he asked Kageyama and Kuroo to go with him, which makes sense since they’re much better in combat than he is. I’m pretty sure they leave first thing in the morning.”</p><p>“What kind of quest is it?” He asked, voice only shaking slightly. There was a chance it could be something small, something that wasn’t dangerous. He hoped and hoped but, well, what would Kita need two of the strongest fighters at camp for then?</p><p>“Based on the reports?” Akaashi swallowed hard and pushed his plate away. “They’re most likely after a group of Laestrygonians.”</p><p>Oh, just a tribe of giant cannibals. Perfect.</p><p>Tsukishima was already shoving himself away from the table and standing.</p><p>“I have to - “</p><p>“Go,” Akaashi waved him off with a sad smile. “You’d better catch him before curfew.”</p><p>Tsukishima could feel a few pairs of eyes on him as he sprinted away from the dining pavilion before their meals were even served. He knew one of them belonged to Futakuchi.</p><p>Still, the only thing he could think of as his feet hit the ground and his heart pounded in his ears was the quest statistics from the past nine years. Quests were made up of groups of three campers each, and there had been approximately three quests per year since Tsukishima came to Camp Half Blood. That meant that around 81 campers had left on quests in the past nine years. Tsukishima had been to 14 campers’ funerals, which meant that 17.3% of all campers who left on quests never came back.</p><p>Which meant there was a 17.3% chance that Kuroo would die. That was 17.3% too high.</p><p>And those numbers didn’t even take into account the fact that he was going to fight <i>a tribe of giant cannibals.</i></p><p>The door to the Hades cabin was propped open, and Tsukishima didn’t bother knocking before slipping in through the crack. Kuroo’s back was to him, haphazardly throwing t-shirts and protein bars into the duffle bag on his bed, so Tsukishima cleared his throat to make his presence known.</p><p>When Kuroo’s eyes met his, dead-on for probably the first time in weeks, Tsukishima’s knees nearly gave out beneath him.</p><p>“Um. Hey.”</p><p>Kuroo’s lips quirked into an almost-grin. “Um. Hey,” he repeated, the same way he had done on the first day of the summer. Gods, that felt like ages ago. How had things gone so wrong since then? How had they gotten to a point where Tsukishima didn’t even know how to speak to Kuroo anymore?</p><p>“I heard about the quest. Congratulations.” Tsukishima tried to sound as sincere as possible. Some campers waited their entire lives training, only to never be granted a quest. Kuroo had only been here for two years, and was already going on his first one.</p><p>“Thanks,” Kuroo grinned wryly. “Yeah, I’m really looking forward to it. Should be a blast. Sounds like these giants really know how to party.” His eyes betrayed his nerves.</p><p>“You know you don’t have to go,” Tsukishima blurted out before he could stop himself. “I mean, just because you were invited to go on a quest doesn’t mean you have to say yes. You can turn it down. You can - “ <i>You can stay here. Safe, here. With me.</i></p><p>Kuroo nodded. “Yeah, I know.”</p><p>“But you won’t.” Tsukishima had already known the answer before he even asked the question. </p><p>Kuroo gave him a pained look. “People are dying. Innocent people. I can’t just ignore that.”</p><p>“Gods, what a stupidly heroic thing to say.” Tsukishima huffed out a broken laugh.</p><p>He had always known this moment would come, since the day he met Kuroo. It was in his eyes and in every drop of blood Tsukishima saw him bleed and in the way he swung his weapon and in the way he cried and in the way he laughed and in the way he held the things he loved in those scarred hands of his.</p><p>Kuroo was meant to be a hero. He was always going to be a hero, and Tsukishima could either stand by his side and help him get there, or try to stand in his way and get bowled over. That was just the way the Fates decided it to be.</p><p>“You think so?” Kuroo asked, looking genuinely pleased. Tsukishima forced himself not to cry.</p><p>“Emphasis on the ‘stupid’ part.”</p><p>Kuroo laughed, and it was the best sound Tsukishima had heard in weeks. “Hey, do you think maybe you could, um…”</p><p>“I’ll come tomorrow,” Tsukishima said decisively. “To see you guys off in the morning. I’ll be there, I promise.”</p><p>“Thank you, Tsukki.” Kuroo smiled like Tsukishima had just given him the greatest gift in the world. It made his chest hurt and his throat constrict painfully.</p><p>And maybe the sound of the familiar nickname on Kuroo’s tongue again was actually the best sound, after all.</p><p>“I’ll let you get back to packing, I guess…” Tsukishima shifted his weight on his feet, only now realizing that he still hadn’t moved from the doorway.</p><p>“Yeah, I should probably finish up soon so I can get to bed,” Kuroo agreed. “Big day tomorrow, and all.”</p><p>“Okay.” Tsukishima couldn’t make his feet move. Didn’t want either him or Kuroo to ever leave the safety of the Hades cabin ever again.</p><p>“Okay,” Kuroo echoed. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something else, then closed it, and instead just said, “Goodnight.”</p><p>The entire walk back to the Athena cabin, Tsukishima felt like a zombie. It was too early for bed, and he knew he should probably go to the Aphrodite cabin to find Futakuchi and explain all of his weird behavior to him. But instead, he just crawled into his bunk curled up on his side, staring at the wall for hours and hours.</p><p>When the rest of his siblings turned in for the night, he felt someone pull his comforter up to his chin, and Sugawara’s familiar cool fingertips across his forehead.</p><p>“I’ve never seen him like this before.” That was Akaashi’s voice whispering in the dark. Tsukishima kept his eyes firmly shut.</p><p>“I know,” Sugawara responded sadly. “Love is the greatest gift and the greatest curse the Gods have ever given to mankind.”</p><p>“Hm, I like that,” Akaashi said thoughtfully. “Who said it?”</p><p>“I did, just now.” Sugawara laughed quietly. “I should thank Kei when he wakes up for inspiring the poet in me.”</p><p>“You should probably be thanking Kuroo, then. Hearts don’t just break themselves, you know.”</p><p>Sugawara hummed. “Sometimes they do.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Tsukishima wished it had rained that morning. Wished it had thundered and poured, that the skies would have screamed and cried along with the thoughts inside his head. That there would have been raging winds, tsunamis and tornados to match the feeling in his chest.</p><p>It didn’t.</p><p>It was sunny and clear, not a cloud in the sky. The only storms were the ones inside of him.</p><p>Akaashi was already awake when Tsukishima rolled out of bed before dawn, sitting on the edge of his bed and watching him.</p><p>“Are you coming, too?” Tsukishima whispered, careful not to wake his other siblings. Akaashi gave him a gentle smile and shook his head.</p><p>“Bokuto and I said our goodbyes to him last night. We thought it would be best if… Well, if we let you go alone. Unless you want me to come?” He added, eyebrows drawn in concern.</p><p>Tsukishima assured him that he didn’t have to, though he still appreciated the offer. Akaashi nodded, though he didn’t stop looking worriedly at Tsukishima like he might change his mind at any second. No matter how old Tsukishima got, he had a feeling Akaashi would always be looking after him the same way he did when he was only a kid. It should be annoying at this point, but Tsukishima didn’t really mind as much as he thought he would.</p><p>There was still early morning dew clinging to the grass, making his toes wet and cold in his sandals, as Tsukishima made the trek to the Big House. From a distance, he could make out a few other people who had shown up to send the campers off. There was Kiyoko, Kita’s cabin-mate, going through his bag with him, probably to double check that he hadn’t left anything behind. And Daichi was there, too, pulling Kageyama off to the side to have some kind of elder brother pep talk or something. Tsukishima was the only person who had come for Kuroo.</p><p>Nobody looked surprised to see Tsukishima, and Daichi even gave him a little smile when he walked up to the group. No doubt Sugawara had been giving him a play-by-play of all of Tsukishima’s life woes over the past few weeks. Kuroo looked more nervous than he had the night before, shifting restlessly on the balls of his feet, but when he saw Tsukishima his eyes lit up. It made Tsukishima’s stomach flip in a way that wasn’t entirely unpleasant.</p><p>“You actually came.” Kuroo grinned.</p><p>“I said I was going to, didn’t I?”</p><p>“You promised, actually,” Kuroo pointed out with a grin. Tsukishima rolled his eyes, more on instinct than anything else.</p><p>“Yeah well, you never made me swear it on the River Styx, so it’s not like my life was on the line or anything. Rookie mistake.”</p><p>“Ah,” Kuroo nodded thoughtfully. “I’ll remember that for next time.”</p><p>Kiyoko cleared her throat quietly and everyone went silent, turning their full attention on her. Kiyoko didn’t say much, and she didn’t say it loudly, but when she spoke, everyone listened. Maybe it was an effect of being a child of Hecate, since there was a lot of magic in spoken words, but Tsukishima always felt like her words carried more weight, more power than anyone else’s.</p><p>She looked carefully at Kita, Kageyama, and Kuroo one by one, then said in a tone that left no room for argument, “Take care of each other. All of you.”</p><p>The weight of the situation seemed to come crashing back down on them all. Daichi clapped a solid hand on Kageyama’s shoulder, expression suddenly much more serious. Kageyama looked much the same. Very fitting of a child of Ares, preparing to go into battle.</p><p>“If everyone’s ready, we should head out soon,” Kita told the group. Daichi gave Kageyama a final solid pat, and Kiyoko hugged Kita briefly, then the two of them were heading back towards the cabins. Tsukishima knew he should be leaving now, too.</p><p>Kuroo abruptly froze up, hands clutching tightly at the strap of his bag slung over his shoulder. Tsukishima thought he was nervous about leaving for the quest, but then he blurted out, “Actually, uh, could I have just another minute?”</p><p>Kita raised an eyebrow, then his gaze flickered over to Tsukishima. “That’s fine. Kageyama and I can double check the weapons again.”</p><p>“Hm,” Kageyama said, which was about as much of an agreement as anyone ever got out of him.</p><p>With his heart hammering away in his throat, Tsukishima let Kuroo gently lead him a few feet away from the rest of the group, giving them some semblance of privacy. Not that Kita and Kageyama were the nosey type, anyways.</p><p>“Listen Tsukki,” Kuroo started, and for a moment, it felt like those two little words held even more power than Kiyoko’s did. “I can’t leave right now without saying this.” Tsukishima stopped breathing. “I’m sorry, for everything. All the stupid little fights this whole summer, I’m really sorry for all of them. I should’ve just - I don’t know why I couldn’t just talk to you, and now by the time I get back, the summer will practically be over, and we wasted all this time not speaking to each other, and I’m just - I’m so sorry, I - “</p><p>“No,” Tsukishima’s harshly dragged air back into his body, his lungs screaming. “No, it wasn’t your fault, I’m sorry, too. I said such awful things - “</p><p><i>”I</i> said the meanest things! Why did I even say those things?”</p><p>“Because you’re an idiot?” Tsukishima suggested habitually. With a contrite laugh, he added, “And because I’m an idiot, too.”</p><p>“Don’t you dare even try to out-idiot me right now, because you won’t win, Smart Ass.” Kuroo laughed, sounding deliriously happy. “Gods, Tsukki, I - “ He cut himself off sharply, eyes going wide. “I. Um.”</p><p>Tsukishima swallowed. “You what?”</p><p>“I… I’m just really happy we aren’t fighting anymore.” Kuroo gave him a crooked smile. “Really, really happy.”</p><p>“Me, too,” Tsukishima agreed, feeling lighter than he had in weeks. In that moment, everything was right in his world again. All the pieces had fallen perfectly back into place. It made <i>sense.</i></p><p>And then, in typical Kuroo Tetsurou fashion, he blew the whole thing to hell.</p><p>“I’ll be back soon,” he said quietly.</p><p>“You better.” Tsukishima stared into his eyes, held his gaze and refused to let go until he was sure Kuroo could read what he was trying to say. <i>I don’t know what I’ll do if you don’t.</i></p><p>Kuroo’s eyes widened marginally, and Tsukishima was sure he got the message. They stood like that, just looking at each other, and Kuroo’s eyes seemed to be searching him for something. Tsukishima didn’t know what he found, but the next thing he knew, Kuroo was taking a step forward, one of his hands landing solid and warm on the side of Tsukishima’s neck. His eyes darted nervously somewhere over Tsukishima’s shoulder before he quickly ducked in, placing the softest, most chaste of kisses right on Tsukishima’s cheek.</p><p>It burned and it ached right inside the fragile cage of his ribs and Tsukishima had no idea why he was suddenly so close to tears.</p><p>“Okay,” Kuroo said, pulling back and tripping a little over his feet in his haste. His cheeks were flushed bright pink, and Tsukishima was pretty sure he wasn’t faring much better. “Okay, I’m done now. I’m sorry, I had to just in case… Well, you know.” He shrugged helplessly. <i>In case I don’t come back.</i></p><p>“Um. Wha - “ Tsukishima lifted a hand dazedly to his cheek, blinking rapidly. </p><p>That was a new one.</p><p>“Gotta go, bye Tsukki!” Kuroo hiked his bag up his shoulder and practically sprinted away before Tsukishima could even finish his sentence.</p><p>Kuroo rejoined Kita and Kageyama who had been waiting for him, and he didn’t look back as they made their way over the hill, across the borders and out of camp. Tsukishima stood there and watched the three of them go until they were out of sight, well aware of the eyes that were watching him as well. He took a deep breath and turned, finding exactly what he had expected behind him.</p><p>“That wasn’t - “ Tsukishima started to explain as soon as he reached Futakuchi.</p><p>“Ah, there it is.” Futakuchi cut him off. He cocked his head to the side, regarding Tsukishima with a wistful smile.</p><p>“There what is?” Tsukishima frowned in confusion.</p><p>“You reek of love.”</p><p>He didn’t sound angry when he said it, just stated it as a simple fact. A universal truth, which for a child of Aphrodite, it probably was that easy. For someone like Tsukishima however, who relied on logic to explain of his thoughts and actions, it brought every gear in his brain to a grinding halt.</p><p>“Well yeah, Kuroo is one of my best friends.”</p><p>Futakuchi stared at him for a second before letting out a sad little laugh, looking at Tsukishima with pity in his eyes. “Oh, honey, you’re not even lying, are you? You actually believe that.”</p><p>“I - “ Tsukishima faltered. Did he actually believe that?</p><p>Tsukishima was lucky enough to love a lot of people, even though he didn’t always tell them in so many words. He loved Sugawara and Akaashi, and all his other siblings. He loved Yamaguchi and Bokuto, even Tendou and Oikawa. He loved Bokuto, though he drove him insane, and he loved Chiron.</p><p>And he - And as for Kuroo, well he - </p><p>He what?</p><p>Futakuchi smiled compassionately at him, apparently deciding to take pity on him. “You know, the ancient Greeks believed there were eight different types of love. I won’t bore you with all the details, I’m sure you know all this already, but let a child of Aphrodite give you a refresher course. That warm, fuzzy kind of love that you feel for you friends? It’s called <i>philia.</i> It’s affectionate love. Platonic. You probably even know <i>storge,</i> which is the natural, instinctive love you feel for your family. For your siblings. But <i>eros,”</i> Futakuchi breathed the word like it was something holy. <i>”Eros</i> is the most passionate form of love. It’s the love of lust and romance, primal and intense. A love so strong and all-consuming, it’s almost dangerous. And as a child of Aphrodite,” Futakuchi grinned wryly. “Let’s just say that I can tell the difference.”</p><p>Hearing it out loud for the first time, having it laid out for him so simply and irrefutably, Tsukishima realized with all the clarity he head been searching desperately for that he knew.</p><p>He knew all along.</p><p>He knew deep, deep down.</p><p>The way he cried that first summer that Kuroo left. The way his stomach flipped when he saw Kuroo walking towards him in his clunky black boots with his ridiculous hair. The way he would put the entire world on his shoulders like Atlas if it meant making Kuroo smile. The way it was instinct to hold his hand and meld their bodies together when Kuroo talked about his family. The way his words stuck in his throat every time he tried to tell him about Futakuchi.</p><p>All of their arguments that summer. The crushing, grieving feeling when he lost Kuroo, even though the other boy was right in front of him.</p><p>The way he felt for Kuroo - the <i>love</i> he felt for Kuroo - it wasn’t <i>philia.</i> Maybe once, a long time ago it had been. Back when they first met, when they were younger and their hearts were pure and uncomplicated, and all Tsukishima wanted to do was follow Kuroo to the ends of the earth so he’d never have to leave his side. But now, he couldn't deny the truth any longer. It might literally kill him if he did.</p><p>The love he felt for Kuroo was <i>eros.</i></p><p>“Shit,” Tsukishima breathed. He was way out of his element here. Children of Athena weren’t cut out for this kind of thing. Epic loves, and whatnot. It was terrifying, and maybe a little bit thrilling.</p><p>“Quit processing so hard,” Futakuchi nudged him gently with his shoulder. “I can literally see the steam coming out of your ears.”</p><p>A wave of guilt hit Tsukishima like a brick wall. How much of an idiot did he have to be for his own boyfriend to have to tell him he was in love with another guy? How incredible of a person did that boyfriend have to be to do it?</p><p>Tsukishima searched Futakuchi again for any sign of bitterness or resentment, but just found a hint of sadness and an immense amount of understanding. More than he deserved, probably.</p><p>“Kenji, I’m sorry. I never meant to - “</p><p>“Oh, please,” Futakuchi waved him off. “There’s no need for all that tedious break up babble between the two of us. I think we both knew when we started this whole thing that we weren’t soulmates or anything. Well, I knew for a fact, but I’m sure that even you, Tsukishima Kei, as emotionally stunted as you are, could tell. Besides, I would have been able to tell if you were in love with someone else when we started dating. Turns out, you were, you just didn’t know it yet.” He shrugged. “What can you do? These things happen, even to children of Aphrodite.”</p><p>Looking into Futakuchi’s sparkling brown eyes, an overwhelming rush of fondness for the boy in front of him flooded Tsukishima’s chest with warmth. There was a love there, too. A love for the first boy he kissed, the first boy to fill his stomach with butterflies, to hold him close and make him feel cherished. It wasn’t quite <i>philia,</i> but it wasn’t <i>eros</i> either. It was something entirely unique to itself, both fragile and wholesome. Maybe there was a word for it already that Tsukishima just didn’t know. Maybe there was no word for it yet. Maybe there never would be, but the feeling would always remain.</p><p>“So, we’re breaking up, huh?”</p><p>Futakuchi nodded mournfully. “I’m afraid so, my dear. We had a good run though, didn’t we? I, personally, enjoyed myself quite thoroughly.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Tsukishima acquiesced. “I had fun with you. A lot more than I thought I would.”</p><p>Futakuchi wiped away a fake tear. “Wow, Kei, don’t start getting all sentimental on me now.”</p><p>“I’m being serious, dumbass.” Tsukishima punched him lightly in the shoulder.</p><p>“Alright, sorry! I’ll be serious, too.” Futakuchi cleared his throat dramatically. “You were seriously an amazing kisser.”</p><p>Tsukishima made a strange choking sound.</p><p>“Really,” Futakuchi continued, oblivious to the fact that more campers were milling around them now. “I was very impressed with the progress you made. You tell Kuroo Tetsurou he can thank <i>me</i> for that.”</p><p>“I really, really wouldn’t hold your breath on that one,” Tsukishima said dryly.</p><p>Futakuchi shrugged, unaffected. “Who am I to deny a man his right to live his life ignoring the truth?”</p><p>“Wait,” Tsukishima said, something Futakuchi mentioned before dawning on him. “You said that you knew for a fact I wasn’t your soulmate. Does that mean you know who is?”</p><p>Based on the way Futakuchi’s entire face turned cherry red, all the way to the tips of his ears was answer enough for Tsukishima. In all the months they had been dating, in all the years that had known each other, Tsukishima had never seen the son of Aphrodite so obviously flustered the way he was in that moment.</p><p>“The, um, well the entire concept of soulmates is, it’s all subjective really - “</p><p>“Kenji,” Tsukishima cut him off flatly. “You’re a child of Aphrodite. You really expect me to believe that you don’t think soulmates are real?”</p><p>“Yes?” Futakuchi squeaked.</p><p>“Oh, come on,” Tsukishima huffed. “Just tell me who it is. It’s only fair since you know mine.”</p><p>Futakuchi’s face broke into a sly grin. “I never said Kuroo was your soulmate, did I?”</p><p>“That’s - Shut up! Neither did it!” Tsukishima was just as flustered as Futakuchi now, and they both stared at each other for a moment longer before bursting into laughter.</p><p>“Okay, okay,” Futakuchi conceded. “I’ll tell you, but you have to swear you’ll never tell a soul.”</p><p>“Yes, whatever, I swear it.” Tsukishima rolled his eyes. </p><p>Futakuchi darted a furtive glance around, before discretely jerking his chin in the direction of the Hephaestus cabin. </p><p>As casually as he could, Tsukishima followed his line of sight all the way over to where Koganegawa was just waking up and making his way out of the cabin. He yawned, stretching his incredibly long arms over his head so that they nearly touched the roof. Then, eyes closed, mid-yawn, he missed the step down from his cabin and landed in the dirt on his face.</p><p>Tsukishima winced, and Futakuchi sighed hopelessly.</p><p>“Oh. Um.” Tsukishima was at a loss for words. “Are you positive?”</p><p>There was nothing wrong with Koganegawa, per se. Tsukishima actually kinda liked him most of the time. Well, some of the time. He was one of the tallest people in all of Camp Half Blood, standing at least a head above all the other kids, easy to spot with his half-dyed blonde hair in a crowd. He also had, seemingly, little to no control over any of his limbs. Or the volume of his voice.</p><p>It wasn’t his fault, really. The height part, not the loudness. He had a freak growth spurt last summer, and would probably grow comfortably into his height eventually, but for now, he was missing steps and eating dirt often enough that the rest of his siblings didn’t even give him a second glance, stepping over his sprawled out body on their way to breakfast. Only Aone stopped, grabbing Koganegawa by the collar of his shirt and yanking him to his feet with one mighty pull. The boy just laughed, brushing the dirt off the front of his shirt with a goofy grin, and followed the rest of his cabin to the dining pavilion.</p><p>Tsukishima had more than a little trouble seeing him and Futakuchi together. They were pretty much polar opposites in every conceivable way.</p><p>But maybe that was the point.</p><p>“I’ve double-checked at least a hundred times by now,” Futakuchi said defeatedly. “I am absolutely, one hundred percent positive.”</p><p>“Wow,” Tsukishima said. “That should be…interesting. Good luck with that.”</p><p>“Hmph,” Futakuchi sniffed. “Good luck to you, too.” Then he added, slightly under his breath, “You’re going to need it.”</p><p>“What was that?” Tsukishima took a step closer. </p><p>Futakuchi help up his hands innocently, with a mirthful grin. “Nothing, nothing at all!”</p><p>“You little - “ </p><p>Tsukishima didn’t give Futakuchi a chance to react before he was wresting the other boy to the ground. Futakuchi yelped, but it quickly dissolved into laughter as they both rolled around on the grass like little kids, kicking and elbowing and grappling with no intention of actually hurting each other. Tsukishima came out victorious, pinning Futakuchi underneath him by sitting on his abdomen with his hands planted in the center of his chest.</p><p>“Damn,” Futakuchi panted, looking up at him with a mischievous glint in his eyes and his perfectly tousled hair falling into his face. “I really am going to miss this view, though.”</p><p>“Get a room!” Someone shouted at them, followed by tittering laughter. </p><p>“Hey, show some respect!” Futakuchi shouted back. “We obviously just broke up!” He looked back up at Tsukishima and shook his head. “Gods, some people.”</p><p>Tsukishima looked down at him, ridiculous grins threatening to break both of their composure, and knew that he had gained a lot more than he lost by dating Futakuchi.</p><p>“If I hadn’t fallen in love with him first, I think maybe I could have fallen in love with you,” he said honestly, quiet enough that if anyone around was listening, they wouldn’t be able to hear him. Futakuchi’s face went slack with surprise, before his lips curled into an affectionate grin.</p><p>“There are no ‘maybes’ in love, Kei.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>As a child, Tsukishima was prone to what Sugawara teasingly referred to as “temper tantrums”.</p><p>Sometimes (more often than he cared to admit), he simply had trouble putting what was going on in his mind into words. His head was filled with complex thoughts, with things he wanted to communicate to others, but he struggled with actually taking those thoughts and vocalizing them. The frustration of not being able to express himself, of not being understood, usually resulted in screaming and crying and lashing out at everyone around him.</p><p>It was kind of a side effect of having the mind of a child of Athena with the vocabulary of an eight year-old. His siblings assured him that they all went through similar phases at some point in their lives, but Tsukishima’s lasted embarrassingly long.</p><p>Some might argue he was still in it.</p><p>“Tsukishima, you still aren’t holding your elbow up high enough. That’s why you’re missing the target.”</p><p>“Well, maybe if I wasn’t being taught by such an incompetent moron, I would actually know how to do this right by now! You’ve been the archery instructor for almost a year now, you would think that by now you would have remembered to tell me something so simple. Gods, why am I even wasting my time on you?”</p><p>He was seething. Spitting vitriol in Hinata Shoyou’s face for absolutely no reason that had anything to do with his archery skills. His hands were clenched so tightly into fists he was trembling all the way up his arms.</p><p>“Kei!” Sugawara snapped, throwing his own bow to the ground and stepping forward. Possibly to stop Tsukishima if he suddenly decided to throw a punch Hinata’s way. He wouldn’t though. He knew it wouldn’t make him feel any better. “What has gotten into you? Apologize to Hinata right now!”</p><p>Tsukishima set his jaw shut tight.</p><p>Hinata, to his credit, didn’t appear all that offended. He just crossed his arms over his chest and stared right up into Tsukishima’s eyes unflinchingly.</p><p>“That’s okay, I don’t care if you say you’re sorry. I know you didn’t actually mean it, you’ve hit the target plenty of other times today. You’re just worried, aren’t you?” Tsukishima flinched back as if he’d been hit, and Hinata nodded to himself. “Yep, that’s what I thought.”</p><p>Tsukishima was way, way past worried at this point. Kuroo and the rest of the campers were supposed to be back from their quest yesterday, and nobody had heard from them since their last check-in nearly three days ago. That was in no way Hinata’s fault, but Tsukishima was a balloon full of nervous energy, ready to pop at a moment’s notice.</p><p>“Shut up,” he growled. “What the hell do you know about it?”</p><p>Hinata blinked up at him, his eyes softening with sadness. “I’m worried about Kageyama, too.”</p><p>That managed to catch Tsukishima off-guard. So much so, he barely felt angry anymore.</p><p>“You are?” He asked skeptically. He had only ever seen Hinata and Kageyama fighting with each other. </p><p>Just a few weeks ago he saw Kageyama try to bludgeon Hinata’s skull in with a battle-ax for calling his haircut stupid. It was quite the scene, one which Tsukishima observed with a good amount of mirth, but not one that made him sit back and think, <i>Ah, yes. Those two would definitely be upset if the other person went missing.</i> He actually figured they’d be pretty happy about it.</p><p>“Of course I am,” Hinata said decisively. “He’s my best friend.”</p><p>“He <i>is?”</i> Tsukishima gaped.</p><p>“Duh,” Hinata shrugged. He checked over his shoulder to make sure the rest of the Athena kids had gone back to practicing their archery before leaning in a little closer. “Kuroo’s your best friend, too, right? So I do know how you feel, but don’t worry so much. This is already the third quest that Kita has lead, and every time he brings everyone back okay. He’s a good leader, he’ll take care of them.”</p><p>There was a confidence in Hinata’s voice, a determined expression on his face that didn’t waver. It wasn’t that he was that sure in Kita’s leadership abilities, or Kageyama’s strength to get them home. It was that he wouldn’t accept any other outcome. Hinata was sure they would return safely, because in his mind, it was the only option. He wouldn’t even let himself consider other scenarios. </p><p>It was a strength of will and mind that Tsukishima envied. If he were able to think that way, maybe he would have actually been able to get some sleep these past two weeks.</p><p>And that simple thought was what finally made it click into place.</p><p>For the first time in his life, Tsukishima found himself relating to Hinata Shoyou of all people. Because Tsukishima was no love expert, but he had learned a few things while dating Futakuchi, and if there was one thing he knew best, it was that people didn’t look the way Hinata did right now when they were talking about their best friends.</p><p>Unless, of course, they were in love.</p><p>For some reason, that realization was the first thing to make Tsukishima smile in days. Not just smile,  but nearly double over laughing, clutching at his sides until he was in stitches. Gods, had he been that painfully obvious all this time, too? In love with his best friend and so deep in denial about it, that he started to believe his own lies? It was just too hilarious, the thought that he and Hinata had something so stupid in common.</p><p>He laughed until tears filled his eyes.</p><p>The rest of his siblings had paused what they were doing, watching Tsukishima with as much confusion as Hinata was, but he just couldn’t stop.</p><p>“Are you broken? Did I break you?” Hinata asked, slightly panicking.</p><p>“Oh, oh Gods no, that was good,” he said when he finally managed to stop laughing, patting Hinata on the shoulder in a way that was much more friendly than they had ever been before. The son of Apollo looked stunned at the gesture. “Thanks Hinata, I feel a lot better now.”</p><p>“Um, you’re welcome?” Hinata said with a confused grin. He then picked up his bow, nocking it towards Tsukishima. “But next time, take it out on someone your own size.”</p><p>Tsukishima blinked at the arrowhead suddenly inches away from his face.</p><p>“Noted.”</p><p>Hinata beamed, lowering the weapon. “Great! Now, pick up and your bow and try it again with your elbow raised a little bit higher. You’re annoyingly not terrible at this when you actually focus.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>That night at dinner, Tsukishima scraped off an extra large portion of his meal in the fire as a sacrifice to the Gods.</p><p>“Hades, don’t you dare take him from me.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Three days. That was how late Kuroo and the other got back from their quest.</p><p>They were easily the three longest days of Tsukishima’s life. Every minute of every hour was spent wondering if Kuroo was lying in a ditch somewhere, the last of his life slipping away as Tsukishima did arts and crafts or planted sunflowers with Yamaguchi. Nothing felt like it was worth doing, not when he waking up every day and not knowing if Kuroo was alive.</p><p>He felt sick the entire time, stomach churning like he might throw up everything in him at any given moment. Not that there was a lot in there anyways, he’d barely been able to eat, especially when he considered the fact that Kuroo might have been some cannibal giant’s latest meal.</p><p>He tried to just stay in his bed all day, but Akaashi and Sugawara had dragged him out into the real world, insisting that just sitting around and thinking about it would only make it worse.</p><p>Tsukishima didn’t know how it could possibly feel any worse.</p><p>And then, just as dinner was finishing up on the third day, and some of the campers were heading down to the campfire, there was a shout from over the hill.</p><p>“They’re back!”</p><p>Tsukishima had never run faster in his life. Not even when he was being chased by an Ares kid with a flaming spear during capture the flag.</p><p>When he finally spotted Kuroo’s familiar silhouette in the distance, it felt like his lungs took in the first breath of air they’d had in days. He was walking a little slower then he usually did, almost cautious with his movements, but when he saw Tsukishima hurtling towards him, he didn’t hesitate to drop his bags and spread his arms wide.</p><p>“Gods!” Tsukishima breathed when he was finally, mercifully in Kuroo’s arms. “What the hell happened?” He pulled back to take a closer look, noticing the dark circles under Kuroo’s eyes, his pallor, almost grey complexion, and the way his body trembled like catching Tsukishima in his arms was the most taxing thing in the world, rather than something he’d done a dozen times before with ease. “What the hell happened to <i>you?</i> Where the hell have you been? Why the hell - “</p><p>Kuroo silenced him with a finger pressed to his lips.</p><p>“Hello to you, too.” He was smiling, but it was tired. Still, the most wonderful thing Tsukishima had ever seen.</p><p>“Bro!” There was suddenly another pair of arms wrapped around both of them as Bokuto lifted them into the air. “I was so scared, bro, I thought you were lunch meat! Dude, I’m so happy you’re not lunch meat!”</p><p>“Yeah,” Kuroo wheezed, patting Bokuto awkwardly on the head. “Me too, bro.”</p><p>Bokuto sighed happily, setting them both back on the ground, and Tsukishima didn’t miss the way Kuroo winced as soon as Bokuto’s arms released him.</p><p>“What happened?” He demanded. “Are you hurt?”</p><p>Kuroo laughed sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. “Uh, well, not exactly…”</p><p>“It’s from overusing your Shadow Traveling,” Akaashi said as he joined the group. “Isn’t it?”</p><p>Tsukishima looked at between them in surprise. He didn’t know Kuroo had gotten good enough at Shadow Traveling to even use it that much, let alone what the side effects were. Then again, they had barely spoken since the first time Kuroo showed it to him, so it made sense that he wasn’t getting regular updates.</p><p>“Yeah,” Kuroo admitted. “But it’s really not a big deal! Just makes me a little burned out is all.”</p><p>“Burn yourself out too much and you’ll become one of those shadows,” Akaashi said sharply. Tsukishima’s eyes widened, turning to Kuroo.</p><p>“Is that true?”</p><p>Kuroo laughed and threw an arm around Bokuto’s shoulders, shaking his head at Akaashi and Tsukishima. “You children of Athena are such worrywarts, you know that? I know not to overuse my powers, that’s the whole reason we got back late. I felt myself starting to run out of juice back in Ohio, so we had to hitchhike our way back to camp instead of having me Shadow Travel us. Trust me, I’m a big boy, I can take care of myself. Right, Bo?” He playfully punched the son of Zeus in the ribs. Bokuto grunted and shot them a thumbs up.</p><p>“Yup, he’s good,” he wheezed. Akaashi and Tsukishima exchanged unimpressed looks. Bokuto pouted, holding his side. “Can we go to the campfire now that Kuroo isn’t dead? I don’t want the Hermes kids to eat all the s’mores again!” </p><p>Akaashi sighed, but he sounded disgustingly fond. “Alright, let’s go.”</p><p>Bokuto cheered and grabbed him suddenly by the hand, causing Akaashi to let out a little grunt of surprise, before he was being forcibly dragged into a run behind Bokuto. Tsukishima and Kuroo watched them go, grinning to themselves. It didn’t really matter how long Akaashi made him wait, he and Bokuto would end up together in the end.</p><p>“Glad you didn’t get eaten, bro!” Bokuto called over his shoulder. Kuroo laughed and waved back, but as soon as they were out of sight, he dropped his arm, looking like the action exhausted him.</p><p>“You need to rest,” Tsukishima frowned.</p><p>“I was just on my way to the infirmary to get some ambrosia from Ennoshita before you accosted me,” Kuroo assured him with a teasing grin. </p><p>“Yeah, well, you deserved to be accosted. Asshole.” Tsukishima sniffed, turning away. He caught sight of Futakuchi over Kuroo’s shoulder, making his way over to the campfire with a group of Aphrodite kids. Like he always seemed to know, Futakuchi looked up and caught Tsukishima’s eye. His gaze darted over to Kuroo then back, with a secretive grin and a wink. Tsukishima rolled his eyes, but still waved back when Futakuchi wiggled his fingers in his direction.</p><p>When he looked back, Kuroo’s eyes were on their feet between them. “You can go ahead, you don’t have to wait around with me. I know campfires are like, you and Futakuchi’s thing, or whatever,” he said to the dirt.</p><p>“Huh?” Tsukishima blinked, suddenly remembering that Kuroo had been gone for over two weeks now. “Oh! Oh, no. We broke up.”</p><p>Kuroo’s head snapped up, eyes going wide. “Wha - When?”</p><p>“When you were gone, obviously.” Tsukishima grinned and shoved at his shoulder lightly. “Try to keep up, would you?”</p><p>Kuroo huffed, but his eyes were crinkled up in the corners with smile lines. “Sorry, I was a little too busy saving the world to keep up on all the hot gossip.”</p><p>“Ew,” Tsukishima wrinkled his nose. “Please never say ‘hot gossip’ to me again.” Kuroo shot him a mega-watt smile, before he started looking horribly nauseous and swaying on his feet. Tsukishima caught him with an arm around his waist, supporting some of his weight. “Come on, you big, dumb hero. Let’s get you to the infirmary.”</p><p>“Ah, Tsukki, you don’t have to do that. You’ll miss the campfire!” Kuroo insisted, but still leaned against Tsukishima’s shoulder like his body was giving in for the first time in days.</p><p>“There will be other campfires, idiot,” he grumbled, starting to lead them towards the infirmary. What he didn’t say was <i>’I think I’d rather die than leave your side right now.’</i> It would be a miracle if he was ever able to let Kuroo leave his sight again. This year was going to be a hard one to let go. He might even cry like he was a kid again, but not until he was alone in his cabin.</p><p>They spent the rest of the night in the infirmary together, Kuroo half-asleep with his head leaning on Tsukishima’s thigh and the blonde breaking off little pieces from the square of ambrosia that Ennoshita had given him and feeding them to him. After giving them the ambrosia, Ennoshita recommended that Kuroo stay the night, then trusted Tsukishima to look after him while he went to join the rest of the campers at the campfire. </p><p>The infirmary was quiet and empty, the only light coming from the moon shining through the windows. Kuroo was blinking hazily in and out of consciousness, and honestly wasn’t great company at the moment, but Tsukishima didn’t mind one bit. All he needed was Kuroo near, and that was enough for him.</p><p>“Open up, Death Boy,” he said quietly, holding another bit of ambrosia to Kuroo’s lips. It took a few seconds for his words to register in Kuroo’s sleepy mind, but slowly his lips parted and he took the bite. The ambrosia was working its wonders quickly, and Kuroo’s skin had already regained some if its healthy, tan glow. Tsukishima brushed the back of his knuckles against Kuroo’s cheek, needing to feel for himself the little hum of life growing stronger.</p><p>Kuroo sighed happily at the touch, and Tsukishima froze. He thought Kuroo was so close to falling asleep at that point, that he wouldn’t even notice.</p><p>“’s nice,” Kuroo mumbled. Drowsily, he turned his head in Tsukishima’s lap to blink up at him. He squinted, and threw a hand over his eyes. “Too bright, Tsukki.”</p><p>Tsukishima’s heart stuttered painfully in his chest, just like it did when he was thirteen.</p><p>“What was that?” He asked in a slightly shaky voice, running his hand through Kuroo’s hair. The son of Hades hummed contently.</p><p>“You’re always too bright,” he complained half-heartedly. “The moon’s mak’n you glow.”</p><p>“Oh,” Tsukishima swallowed. “I’m sorry.”</p><p>“’s’okay.” Kuroo yawned, smacking his lips. “Hey, Tsukki?”</p><p>“Yes?”</p><p>“Let’s never not be friends again, ‘kay? I can’t lose anyone else,” he finished in a murmur so faint Tsukishima had to strain to hear it. He almost wished he hadn’t.</p><p>Tsukishima’s fingers stilled in his hair, but luckily Kuroo was already slipping so deep into sleep, he didn’t seem to notice.</p><p>Suna’s words from years ago echoed in his head: <i>From what I can tell, it seems like Kuroo needs a lot of different kinds of people to make him whole again, but you were the first part. The biggest one.</i></p><p>Ah, that’s right. That was Tsukishima’s place, his part to play in Kuroo’s life. He was Kuroo’s best friend, and he always would be. His first friend at Camp Half Blood. His rock. He would be whatever Kuroo needed, even if it wasn’t quite what he wanted to be, because having Kuroo in any way was better than not having him at all, as this entire summer had proven.</p><p>First, he had lost him as a friend. Then, he had almost lost him completely. Tsukishima wouldn’t risk either of those things ever again. Love was a grand notion, a beautiful concept, but it wasn’t guaranteed to hold true.</p><p>“Okay,” Tsukishima whispered. “I promise, we’ll always be friends.”</p><p>Kuroo’s breath evened out, deep and slow, and Tsukishima knew he wouldn’t be waking up again for a very long time. He could easily slip out from under the sleeping boy without disturbing him now, and head back to his own cabin to sleep.</p><p>Instead, he curled himself up alongside Kuroo in that tiny white cot, long limbs folded up uncomfortably in a way he knew would hurt when he woke up, neck angled so that he could already feel a crick forming in it.</p><p>It was the best night’s sleep he had gotten in ages.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Kuroo woke up 72 hours later, on the last day of summer.</p><p>Ennoshita said it was a miracle that he didn’t take at least a full week to recover, with how drained and over-exhausted his body was. It must have been pure strength of will that allowed him to be up and moving so soon, the son of Apollo told Tsukishima, Bokuto, and Akaashi when they came looking for Kuroo in the infirmary and found his cot empty. Tsukishima wasn’t that surprised. He did always know that Kuroo Tetsurou was a miracle.</p><p>“Well where the heck did he go?” Bokuto scratched his head in confusion, still staring at the empty cot like Kuroo might suddenly pop out from under the covers and scare them all.</p><p>“I think I know,” Tsukishima said. He didn’t stick around to explain any further, just turned and walked out of the infirmary, leaving his slightly baffled friends behind.</p><p>Tsukishima found him in the strawberry fields, just like he did on the last day of summer every year.</p><p>“I can’t believe we wasted all that time.” Kuroo was playing with the frayed edges of one of the holes in his jeans when Tsukishima sat next to him.</p><p>“There’s always next summer.” Nine months felt like an impossible distance away to Tsukishima. Longer than it ever had before.</p><p>“Yeah, I guess so.” Kuroo sighed. He looked up and suddenly a little smile took the place of his morose pout. “Hey, did I ever tell you what I did with all the letters you sent me that first year I was living with Bokuto and his family?”</p><p>“No?” Tsukishima said, puzzled. “Was it weird? Don’t tell me if it’s weird.”</p><p>“No!” Kuroo laughed. “Okay, well, maybe a little? It’s mostly just embarrassing.”</p><p>“Now you have to tell me,” Tsukishima demanded. This could be good blackmail material, or maybe he could trade it with Bokuto for information on what happened with him and Akaashi.</p><p>“Oh man,” Kuroo grinned and shook his head like he couldn’t even believe what he was about to say. Tsukishima pulled his knees to his chest and watched with anticipation as Kuroo’s cheeks turned a rosy pink. “I used to sleep with them under my pillow. Just wait!” He cut Tsukishima off before he could say anything, not that he had any idea what to say in response to that. “It’s not that weird! It’s just - Did you know all of your letters smell like strawberries? Just like you. So whenever I started to miss being at camp, or feeling like I didn’t belong with Bo’s family, or at school, I would just read your letters and smell the strawberries and picture you sitting right here, just like this, writing to me. And that made things a little easier.”</p><p>Oh, Gods, no. There it was again, stronger than ever. That helpless, terrifying and exhilarating feeling bubbling inside of him, threatening to spill over second now.</p><p>
  <i>I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you I love you.</i>
</p><p>Tsukishima opened his mouth, but luckily no sounds came out. Kuroo grinned at him, standing and brushing the grass off his jeans.</p><p>“I better get going, Bo’s mom will be here to pick us up soon.”</p><p>“O-oh, right.” Tsukishima cleared his throat, swallowing down the traitorous words.</p><p>As he was already heading up the hill, back towards camp, Kuroo turned and waved to him, shouting, “Write me lots of letters this year, Tsukki! I’ll be missing you extra.”</p><p>It must have been at least an hour later that Oikawa and Iwaizumi found him still there, as they were walking through the fields hand in hand, Oikawa swinging their arms between them.</p><p>“Gods, what is that smell?” Oikawa stopped abruptly with a hand pressed delicately to his nose. </p><p>Iwaizumi frowned and sniffed the air. “I don’t smell anything?”</p><p>That’s when when they looked over and noticed Tsukishima laying there, staring up at the clouds passing in the sky with a dopey little grin on his face. Oikawa walked up to him and tilted his head down, casting a shadow across Tsukishima’s face, finally catching his attention. He blinked up at the son of Aphrodite, who delightedly informed him:</p><p>“Oh, Kei, darling. You absolutely reek.”</p><p>“So I’ve heard.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>....how u guys doing?? everyone still here?? made it to the end??</p><p>WOW this was such a rollercoaster of a chapter, just writing it was crazy emotional, so i hope u all enjoyed!!</p><p>i know i mentioned at the beginning of the chapter that this fic was going to be an extra chapter longer, but SURPRISE i actually planned for it to be a three-part series of fics!! so we(i) can hang onto this universe and these characters a little bit long!! there will be lots more appearances by background characters, lots more quest-ing, and lots more boyfriends in love!!</p><p>thank u all for reading and sticking with me and please comment to let me know what u thought, and as always, feel free to come to talk to me on <a href="https://twitter.com/oiiblondie">twitter</a></p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. the summer of death</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>"I’ll always be by your side, for as long as you want me to be.”</p><p>“Forever, then?”</p><p>“Forever, Death Boy.”</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>sorry about the wait, i hope the fact that this chapter is more than twice the length of the other two put together makes up for it!! :))</p><p>i truly did not intend on this part of the story getting so long, but it kind of took on a life of it's own - so basically, the first two parts are just the prequel to this one</p><p>i'll get sappy at the end and won't make u wait any longer to read - pls enjoy my loves!</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>  <a href="https://twitter.com/oiiblondie/status/1277754058040913926?s=20">moodboard</a><br/><a href="https://twitter.com/oiiblondie">my twitter</a></p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>The Summer of Death</b>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>There’s no reason to be nervous.</p><p>It’s not like this is the first time Tsukishima has ever left camp before, and as far as he can tell, there are no monsters around (though one can never be too sure).</p><p>Still, as Tsukishima stares up at the gleaming white building in front of him, with the words <b>‘FUKURODANI ACADEMY’</b> written across it in bold, clean letters, he can’t help but feel his breakfast rolling around uncomfortably in his stomach.</p><p>The problem isn’t the building itself. The problem is that Tsukishima knows what’s going to happen once he walks into the building, and he’s not entirely certain that he’s ready for it.</p><p>Someone jostles him from behind, breaking him out of his thoughts.</p><p>“Sorry, man!”</p><p>A young guy apologizes as he hurries past, black gown billowing behind him and a flat, square cap clutched in his hands. Tsukishima worries if he’s running late, but he had been firmly instructed by his friends on their Iris call last night to stand by the entrance and wait for Bokuto’s mom to come retrieve him.</p><p>“Kei!”</p><p>Tsukishima looks up at the sound of the unfamiliar voice calling his name and finds a woman he’s never seen before hurrying over to him, waving excitedly. He may have never met her before, but he has no doubt in his mind that this is Bokuto’s mother. He probably would have known it was her even if she hadn’t called his name first. She has short, jet black hair with a single streak of silver framing her face and the brightest (read: second brightest) smile Tsukishima has ever seen.</p><p>The woman stops right in front of him, giving him a quick once over before nodding to herself. “Yup, you must be him, I have no doubt about it!” And then, she pulls him into a hug.</p><p>He doesn’t know why his body stiffens up when he feels her arms wrap around him. It hasn’t been his instinct to shy away from touch for a while now, not with how affectionate his friends and siblings are with him. He’s pretty used to physical affection at this point, much to his chagrin.</p><p>But, oh - This is the first time he’s ever been hugged by a mother, isn’t it? </p><p>Mother’s hugs are different, he thinks distantly, as his arms come up to briefly hug her back. Do they all smell sweetly flowery like this? He’s much more used to the sharp, musky smell of teenage boys. Even Futakuchi hadn’t smelled as sweet as this, and the Aphrodite cabin was covered in floral arrangements.</p><p>Must just be a mom thing, then.</p><p>“Um, hi. Yes, I’m Tsukishima Kei,” he greets her properly once she’s pulled back, still beaming at him. “Thank you very much for having me, Mrs…” He trails off uncertainly. It would feel weird to call Bokuto’s mom ‘Mrs. Bokuto’, even though that is technically her name.</p><p>“Please honey, just call me Mari.” She laughs at his awkward fumbling and Tsukishima blushes. He’s never been very good with adults, probably due to the fact that he grew up raised by a bunch of teenagers. The closest thing he knew to an adult was Chiron, who was upwards of four hundred years old and had the bottom half of a horse. So, not a lot of opportunity for practice.</p><p>“Thank you for having me, Mari.”</p><p>“Don’t even mention it, dear.” Mari waves him off. “I’ve heard so much about you, I feel like you’re practically part of the family already.” She claps her hands together over her chest. “Oh, the boys are just so excited that you’re here! And you look so handsome, I bet they’ll hardly recognize you! Koutarou told me you’d probably still be wearing jeans and your camp t-shirt.” She laughs at him, linking their elbows together and leading him into the school.</p><p>Truthfully, that <i>was</i> what Tsukishima had been planning on wearing, but when Oikawa saw him getting ready to leave camp that morning, he dragged him to the Aphrodite cabin and refused to let him leave until he had him in a completely new outfit comprising of borrowed articles of clothing from various siblings. The light grey checkered pants were Oikawa’s, and Tsukishima thought they must have been an old pair since they exposed a few inches of his ankles, but Oikawa assured him that they were styled that way on purpose. The silky black button-down was Futakuchi’s, which he knew because he recognized it, and he didn’t know who the shiny leather shoes belonged to, but whoever it was clearly hated themselves because they were pinching Tsukishima’s toes with every step he took.</p><p>As Mari leads him down the school’s busting hallways, Tsukishima can’t help but look around and feel impressed. He knew that Bokuto, Kuroo, and Akaashi went to a fancy private school, but Fukurodani was so white and pristine, with high ceilings and decorative archways, that it put even Mt. Olympus to shame. </p><p>It’s funny, imagining his same friends that he spent summers covered in dirt and sweat and lake water with attending a school like this, in pressed uniforms with ties around their necks. He’s willing to bet Bokuto and Kuroo never wore theirs right, not a single time, no matter how many times Akaashi chided them for it. The thought makes him smile to himself. Settles his nerves just the tiniest bit.</p><p>“Right over here, sweetheart!” Mari ushers him into one of the very front rows of the auditorium with a clear view of the large wooden stage, already set up with a podium and chairs of faculty members. “Harry made sure to reserve two seats for us up front.”</p><p>“Is that him?” Tsukishima points to the man on stage standing on the podium in a long robe and funny hat. “That’s Bokuto’s - Um.”</p><p>Harry was technically Bokuto’s step-father, but Bokuto never called him as much, he just called him “Dad”. And he also happened to be the headmaster of Fukurodani Academy, which is probably the only reason Bokuto and Kuroo had never been expelled.</p><p>“His father,” Mari smiles softly at the man with the greying temples. He looks just as friendly and warm as Bokuto’s mom, and Tsukishima can’t help but feel a pang of jealousy. Some people got not one, but <i>two</i> good parents.</p><p>If anyone deserved it though, it was Bokuto.</p><p>He nearly jumps out of his seat when the ceremony begins and there’s a sudden blaring of trumpets playing the graduation march, ushering in a sea of students in matching black caps and gowns with little gold tassels entering the auditorium in single file lines. </p><p>It doesn't take Tsukishima long to spot his friends among the students.</p><p>Bokuto and Kuroo are predictably easy to find because of their hair. Neither of their caps completely tame their gravity-defying locks, and as a result, Bokuto’s is sticking out in little silver tufts at the side of his head, giving him a very Einstein-esque look, and Kuroo’s is clearly fighting off the restraints of his cap, so that it sits tilted a little bit sideways on his head. Akaashi was easy to find, only because Bokuto kept leaning across the few people separating them to tap him on the shoulder and get his attention.</p><p>Seeing the three of them down there, so achingly familiar, laughing and getting shushed by all the teachers, Tsukishima wants to laugh. Probably would, too, if it wasn’t for the melancholy clogging his throat whenever he thinks about the reality of what it all means.</p><p>This will be their last summer at Camp Half Blood all together.</p><p>Already, pretty much all they could talk about was going to New Rome University in the fall.</p><p>Tsukishima has heard countless stories about New Rome growing up, because that’s where Camp Jupiter is. Camp Jupiter is just like Camp Half Blood in pretty much every way, except for the fact that the demigods who go there are the children of the Greek Gods’ Roman counterparts. The children of Jupiter, Neptune, and Mars, rather than Zeus, Poseidon, and Ares. The two camps had pretty bad relations years before Tsukishima started living at Camp Half Blood, but since he’s been there, the two camps have worked together. He even has a vague memory of two Camp Jupiter praetors dressed in fancy purple robes visiting when he was younger.</p><p>But New Rome isn’t just comprised of Camp Jupiter, it’s a whole city dedicated to being a safe haven for demigods. There are families that live there, coffee shops and bookstores, a park and a college. A lot of demigods chose to attend New Rome University for the safety of it, and many demigods chose to live in New Rome their entire lives.</p><p>It wasn’t just Akaashi, Bokuto, and Kuroo, though. Sugawara and Daichi had already received their acceptances, and so had Iwaizumi, who would be studying at New Rome University while Oikawa attended a fashion design institute nearby. Tsukishima already knew a few kids his age who were planning on following in their older siblings’ footsteps the next year.</p><p>They’d always be welcome back at Camp Half Blood, of course, and Tsukishima knew they would come visit as often as they could, but it wouldn’t ever be the same.</p><p>When all the boring speeches are over and the headmaster finally starts calling out the students’ names to receive their diplomas on stage, Tsukishima forces all the negative thoughts from his mind. Today isn’t about him and his self-pity, it’s about celebrating his friends.</p><p>“Keiji Akaashi,” is one of the first names called, and Bokuto’s mom is already in tears as he makes his way gracefully across the stage. </p><p>Mari jumps to her feet, hauling Tsukishima along with her, and cups her hands around her mouth, cheering louder than anyone else in the auditorium. It’s no wonder where Bokuto got his lung capacity from. Tsukishima covers his face with one hand, flushing in humiliation, but it’s totally worth it when Akaashi looks right up at them and gives Tsukishima a pleased grin, waving his diploma proudly in the air.</p><p>They stand until the headmaster calls out, “Koutarou Bokuto”, with a special sort of smile. Bokuto nearly sprints onto the stage, gives his father a perfunctory handshake, then once he has his diploma in hand, throws his arms around the man’s neck. There are a few chuckles in the audience, some classmates cheering loudly, and Mari sniffles hopelessly beside Tsukishima, clutching his hand in hers.</p><p>“That’s my baby!” She sobs, waving her mascara stained handkerchief in the air until Bokuto spots them in the crowd and waves excitedly with both arms, smile brighter than the sun.</p><p>Tsukishima and Mari stay on their feet all the way to “Tetsurou Kuroo”. Kuroo doesn’t hug the headmaster the way Bokuto did, but Harry does clap him firmly on the shoulder and lean in to whisper something in his ear that makes Kuroo smile devastatingly.</p><p>Tsukishima feels time slow around him as he watches Kuroo walk the stage with a diploma in his hand. It’s like he’s somewhere outside of his body, seeing the scene play out from another dimension. But then, Kuroo looks up and meets his eyes, and Tsukishima knows without a single doubt in his mind that this is real. There’s no other dimension in the entire time-space continuum with a Kuroo like his.</p><p>And it really is his Kuroo; the same dirty, broken, feral-eyed kid who had come violently crashing into Tsukishima’s life talking about wanting to die only four years ago, now walking across the stage at his high school graduation, face stretched into the purest, happiest look Tsukishima has ever seen. He’s an almost unrecognizable young man now, compared to the little boy Tsukishima first met.</p><p>And that’s really what they had been, isn’t it? Just two little boys, with a few jagged edges that happened to fit perfectly together.</p><p>Kuroo stops, nearly tripping over his long gown when he spots Tsukishima in the crowd, and Tsukishima’s heart trips similarly in his chest. Kuroo’s smile is softer than Bokuto’s toothy grin, like he still can’t believe this is happening. Tsukishima smiles back and tries not to look like a total lovestruck idiot.</p><p>It’s been getting harder to hide how he feels on his face.</p><p>Only when the person coming across the stage behind him nudges Kuroo in the back do his feet start working again.</p><p>“Here, darling.” Mari pulls a handkerchief out of her purse and offers it to Tsukishima, who blinks at it in confusion. “You look like you could use it more than me.”</p><p>Tsukishima touches his cheeks and his fingertips come away feeling damp. Huh, when did that happen?</p><p>“Thank you.” He quickly grabs the tissue from her. Mari tilts her head to the side and watches him a little too knowingly.</p><p>“He’s a special boy, that Tetsurou.”</p><p>Tsukishima laughs helplessly.</p><p>
  <i>I don’t need you to tell me that.</i>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>They leave so quickly after the ceremony, the three older boys are barely out of their graduation gowns before they’re on the bus on their way back to camp.</p><p>Bokuto’s mom had tried to insist that Tsukishima at least stay for the night since he had just gotten there that morning, and Harry was just as nice as Tsukishima suspected he would be, but none of them wanted to waste a second of this summer anywhere but Camp Half Blood.</p><p>Tsukishima takes the window seat on the bus and Kuroo slides in next to him, with Bokuto and Akaashi in the seats right behind them. Kuroo immediately takes out his old beaten up MP3 player and offers an earbud to Tsukishima. It was a hand-me-down from Harry, who said Kuroo could hang onto it until they got him something better. Kuroo refused though, insisting that the ancient thing that only held a hundred songs on it at once was good enough for him. He never even loaded any of his own music onto it, just listened to all of Harry’s old albums from the 80’s.</p><p>Kuroo always played the same weird indie album on repeat. Tsukishima knows all the words by heart.</p><p>“Can’t you get some new music?”</p><p>“Absolutely not,” Kuroo says definitively. “And don’t even try to pretend you don’t like my music. I hear you singing The Smiths in the shower all the time.”</p><p>Tsukishima chokes on his own saliva. He doesn’t do that, does he? <i>Does he?</i> “What the - Why are you listening to me in the showers, you pervert?”</p><p>Kuroo just laughs and turns the music up louder, pretending he can’t hear Tsukishima anymore. Even though he only has one earbud in. Asshole. Stupid, gorgeous asshole.</p><p>As they drive later into the night, some of the other passengers begin to doze off around them. Bokuto is already loudly snoring with his head on Akaashi’s shoulder, but the other boy doesn't seem to mind much as he idly turns the pages of his book. Tsukishima himself is starting to drift in and out, only realizing he’d been falling asleep when he wakes up at the end of a song he could have sworn had just started.</p><p>He thinks he must be half-asleep when he hears Kuroo say in a quiet voice, “You don’t smell like you.”</p><p>Tsukishima blinks himself awake, looking over at Kuroo in confusion. The older boy has his head tilted to the side, looking strangely serious about the revelation.</p><p>“Oh, right.” Tsukishima remembers, grimacing. “I probably smell like the entire Aphrodite cabin.” Kuroo’s eyebrows draw together and he quickly adds, “My clothes! I mean, Oikawa made me borrow all these stupid clothes from them. Apparently, jeans aren’t appropriate graduation attire.”</p><p>“Hm. That makes sense, I guess.” Kuroo’s eyes appraise Tsukishima’s outfit again and his lips tug into a smirk. “Oikawa did a good job. You clean up pretty nice for a smart ass.”</p><p>“Don’t get used to it, Death Boy.” Tsukishima rolls his eyes.</p><p>“Nah, I won’t.” Kuroo’s smirk melts into a stupid grin. “I like it better when you look like yourself, anyways.”</p><p>“I like you better when you stop commenting on my body odor and let me sleep,” Tsukishima grumbles, definitely not blushing. He is absolutely not at all affected by the fact that Kuroo kind of just said that he likes the way Tsukishima looks. Not even a little.</p><p>Those are not his butterflies stirring up a frenzy in his stomach. He’s just holding onto them for a friend.</p><p>“Here,” Kuroo offers, tugging his deep red hoodie over his head and pillowing it on his shoulder. “You’ll hurt your neck if you sleep sitting up like that.”</p><p>Tsukishima stares. And he considers.</p><p>It would probably look weirder if he turned down the offer, wouldn’t it? He had no good reason not to accept a friendly shoulder to rest his head on, and it would only come off as more suspicious if he couldn’t explain to Kuroo <i>why</i> being so close to him was dangerous to Tsukishima’s health.</p><p>“Fine. You better not move too much,” Tsukishima finally agrees. Kuroo beams and pats his shoulder invitingly.</p><p>“Don’t worry, Your Highness. I’ll be the perfect pillow for you to rest your weary traveler’s head on.”</p><p>As much as he doesn’t want to notice it, Kuroo kind of <i>is</i> the perfect pillow for him. Tsukishima is a little bit taller than Kuroo now, and at seventeen years old, he’ll probably stay that way. Most of his height is in his legs, though, so when they’re sitting side-by-side like this, Kuroo’s shoulder is actually the ideal height for Tsukishima to rest his head on without having to bend down too far and hurt his neck. As soon as he relaxes into the position and lets his eyes slip shut, he knows it won’t be long before he’s out cold.</p><p>He’s almost completely drifted off to sleep when Kuroo whispers, “Tsukki?”</p><p>“Hm?” Tsukishima absentmindedly turns to bury his face in the crook of Kuroo’s neck. He liked the way Mari’s flowery mom-hug had smelled, but he’s much more partial to Kuroo’s sharp, musky teenage-boy-smell.</p><p>There’s a long pause where Tsukishima can’t feel Kuroo’s chest rising and falling before he says in a slightly breathless voice, “Thanks for being there today.”</p><p>The warmth of Kuroo’s body pressed against his and the lulling motions of the bus makes Tsukishima just sleepy and vulnerable enough to reply, “Don’t be an idiot. ‘m always gonna be there.”</p><p>He feels Kuroo start to breathe again.</p><p>Everything is peaceful and quiet, like they’re traveling in a little bubble untouched by time and space - that is, until the bus drives over a pothole and jerks Bokuto awake so violently that he zaps Akaashi with a static charge so strong it has the other boy’s hair standing on end the rest of the ride to camp.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“The soil looks really good over here. I bet these’ll be perfectly ripe in a few more days.”</p><p>“That’s great.”</p><p>“These over here need a little help, though.”</p><p>“Mhm, sounds good.”</p><p>“I’m thinking about moving to India, shaving my head, and becoming a monk.”</p><p>“Yeah, sure, whatever you think is best.”</p><p>“Tsukki!” Yamaguchi laughs, standing up from where he had been crouched over inspecting the strawberry vines. “You’re not listening to me at all, are you?”</p><p>Tsukishima guiltily drags his gaze down from the clouds above to his friend’s freckled face. “I was,” he lies.</p><p>“You were not,” Yamaguchi insists stubbornly, hand planted on his hip. “I know you don’t find talking about plants all that riveting or anything, but you’re more distracted than usual today.”</p><p>“Maybe you’re just more boring than usual today,” Tsukishima shoots back, though it lacks any bite. </p><p>It’s a true testament to their friendship that Yamaguchi isn’t even phased by his words. The son of Demeter wipes the sweat off his forehead with his gardening glove, smearing dirt across his face, and Tsukishima doesn’t bother telling him about it. He doesn’t usually care anyways.</p><p>“Very funny, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi says in such a dry and unamused tone, Tsukishima is actually kind of proud of him. He plucks one of the biggest berries off the vine and plops down next to Tsukishima, offering the fruit to him. Tsukishima accepts it gratefully, taking a bite and letting the sweet juices explode over his tongue. “So what’s on your mind?”</p><p><i>The imminent death of our carefree youth,</i> feels a little too melodramatic for the moment.</p><p>“Just stuff,” Tsukishima says instead. </p><p>Yamaguchi hums like that answers everything. “So, have you decided if you’re going to tell Kuroo that you’re in love with him this summer?”</p><p>Tsukishima promptly chokes on his bite of strawberry.</p><p>“Wha -" He tries to croak through his coughing fit, tears stinging at the corners of his eyes.</p><p>“Oh, crap! Gods, Tsukki, I’m sorry!” Yamaguchi scrambles onto his knees, situating himself behind Tsukishima’s back, pressing both fists into his sternum and squeezing hard until the chunk of fruit un-lodges itself from Tsukishima’s windpipe.</p><p>“Are you - Trying to <i>kill</i> me?” Tsukishima asks shrilly. Yamaguchi gives him an apologetic smile, shifting to sit next to him again.</p><p>“It was an accident! I really am sorry.” He pouts and Tsukishima almost forgets about why he was upset in the first place.</p><p>Almost.</p><p>“I didn’t know it was supposed to be a secret,” Yamaguchi continues, as if he hadn’t just almost murdered Tsukishima.</p><p>“It’s not a secret, because it isn’t true.” Tsukishima can’t bring himself to meet his oldest friend’s eyes.</p><p>“You shouldn’t lie to your friends, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi says wisely. “It’s not very nice.”</p><p>“I’m not lying!” His voice comes out just a little too loud and Yamaguchi raises a pointed eyebrow at him. Tsukishima sighs in defeat. “Nothing I say will convince you otherwise, will it?”</p><p>“Nope!” Yamaguchi says happily. “In fact, the more you talk, the more I’m sure of it. I’ve never seen you so defensive about anything before. Plus, your face is all red.”</p><p>“My face is not - !” Tsukishima starts to protest. Very defensively. “Point taken.”</p><p>He feels like maybe he should be more terrified in this moment, with his biggest secret laid out so bare in front of him, being said aloud for the first time ever. Well, unless you count the conversation he had with Futakuchi years ago, during the weirdest breakup of all time. Other than that though, he’s never told anyone about his feelings for Kuroo. Kept them buried deep down inside and acted like nothing in his heart had changed for the past two years.</p><p>But if he’s being honest with himself, it’s a bit liberating having someone else know. Plus, if it’s Yamaguchi of all people, he thinks maybe he can handle the vulnerability. Yamaguchi has always been able to read him better than anyone, maybe even better than his own siblings. If anyone was going to be able to see right through him when it came to his feelings for Kuroo, it would be him.</p><p>“Good, now that that’s settled!” Yamaguchi claps his hands together cheerfully. “Are you gonna tell him?”</p><p>“Absolutely not.”</p><p>“What? Why not?” Yamaguchi whines.</p><p>“Do you think I’ve been hiding it this long for my health?”</p><p>“I thought you were just waiting for the right time,” Yamaguchi admits.</p><p>“The right time?” Tsukishima repeats drily.</p><p>“Yeah! Like, I first figured it out two summers ago when you were dating Futakuchi, so obviously that year was no good. And last year you guys were still kind of getting back to normal, so it was a little too soon. But this summer! It’s Kuroo’s last summer before he goes off to college, and you guys are in a pretty good place, so I just thought…” Yamaguchi trails off, shrugging with a lopsided smile. “Right time.”</p><p>“Yamaguchi,” Tsukishima says, pinching the bridge of his nose. His best friend was honestly too pure-hearted for this world. “This is not one of Suga’s cheesy soap operas, this is my <i>life.</i> The ‘right time’ doesn’t exist, okay?”</p><p>Yamaguchi blinks at him a few times. “What are you so afraid of?”</p><p>Tsukishima reels back, jaw going slack. “Afraid? I’m not afraid of anything, I’m just being logical here. Telling Kuroo about how I - how I <i>feel</i> about him is just going to end up ruining our friendship, and that’s not fair to him. He would hate me.”</p><p>“How do you know that? You haven’t even tried yet.”</p><p>“Call it an educated guess,” Tsukishima mumbles, pulling his knees to his chest.</p><p>“Tsukki,” Yamaguchi says gently, tapping the back of his hand like he’s sending him a message in morse code. “You don’t have to be logical about this, you know? You should just do what feels right.”</p><p>Tsukishima stares blankly back at him.</p><p>“Alright,” Yamaguchi laughs, “think about it this way: What if it was me?”</p><p>Tsukishima frowns in confusion. “What if what was you?”</p><p>“What if <i>I</i> told you that I was in love with you,” Yamaguchi elaborates. “Would you hate me for it?”</p><p>“Oh. Um? I don’t -" Tsukishima coughs awkwardly, feeling heat creep up the back of his neck. He really isn’t equipped for conversations like this. “You - You’re not, are you?”</p><p>“Hades, no!” Yamaguchi laughs, nose scrunching up. “Gods, look at you blush, you’d think I just proposed marriage! I mean, I did go through that one phase when we were fourteen -"</p><p>
  <i>”What?”</i>
</p><p>“- but not anymore. Definitely not in love with you.” Yamaguchi concludes. “So, you can answer honestly, you won’t hurt my feelings. Would you not want to be my friend anymore? Would you hate me?”</p><p>
  <i>Would I?</i>
</p><p>Instinctively, Tsukishima knows the answer.</p><p>“Of course not.”</p><p>“You see?” Yamaguchi dimples a sunny grin at him. “Then why would you expect Kuroo to react any differently?”</p><p>“There are about a billion other factors you failed to consider here,” Tsukishima argues. “I can’t just walk up to him in the middle of capture the flag and say, ‘Hey, I know we’re best friends and all, but in case you haven’t noticed by now, I’m completely in lo -"</p><p>Tsukishima’s sentence breaks off into a startled scream as a solid mass suddenly comes crashing into him from behind. </p><p>He would have been much more terrified if the mass hadn’t then shouted, “Surprise!”, in an all too familiar voice, with all too familiar arms wrapping around him as he was tackled to the ground.</p><p>“Kuroo!” Tsukishima isn’t proud of the way the word comes out in a strangled shriek. His heart is racing in his throat, and it’s not entirely because of the warm weight of Kuroo’s body pressed against his.</p><p>
  <i>Had Kuroo heard anything?</i>
</p><p>“Heya, Tsukki. I missed you.” Kuroo has the gall to press his forehead against Tsukishima’s temple.</p><p>“I just saw you at breakfast an hour ago, you moron!” Tsukishima snaps. Much like Yamaguchi, Kuroo is completely and infuriatingly unaffected by it.</p><p>“Are you saying you didn’t miss me, too?” Kuroo gasps in mock offense, then adds almost as an afterthought, “Oh, hey Yamaguchi.”</p><p>“Hey Kuroo, nice of you to stop by,” Yamaguchi giggles, and Tsukishima manages to turn his head enough see his traitorous friend looking terribly amused by the situation.</p><p>“You can’t - You can’t just drop in on the middle of people’s conversations like that! It’s rude!” Tsukishima chides, and his voice is still a little too high and panicked.</p><p>“Oops,” Kuroo laughs sheepishly. “I didn’t realize I was interrupting. Do you want me to go? I can just come find you later.”</p><p>“No need!” Yamaguchi leaps to his feet, giving Tsukishima a significant look. “I was just leaving, actually. I promised Yachi I’d help her plant some sunflowers around the Apollo cabin today.”</p><p>“Of course you did.” Tsukishima glares at him, but Yamaguchi is more than immune to it by now, waving goodbye and practically skipping away through the strawberry fields. The smug little bastard.</p><p>“You didn’t hear anything, did you?” Tsukishima asks suspiciously.</p><p>Kuroo shakes his head and draws a little ‘x’ over his chest. “Cross my heart.”</p><p>“Good.” Tsukishima exhales. <i>Thank the gods for small miracles.</i></p><p>“Why?” Kuroo raises his eyebrows up and down suggestively. “You guys telling juicy secrets out here?”</p><p>“No, and I wouldn’t tell you even if we were,” Tsukishima scoffs.</p><p>“Aw, no fun!” Kuroo props his chin on Tsukishima’s shoulder, wild black strands of hair tickling Tsukishima’s cheek. “Hey, you’re not really mad at me, are ya, Tsukki?”</p><p>Tsukishima can feel Kuroo’s breath skating across the shell of his ear, making a shiver race up his spine. He’s suddenly far too aware of how close and how alone they are right now.</p><p>“No,” he swallows hard. “But I will be if you don’t detach yourself from me in the next five seconds.”</p><p>Kuroo quickly obliges, moving so that he’s sitting beside Tsukishima instead of wrapped around him. It’s simultaneously a hundred times better and a million times worse. On the up side, Tsukishima can breathe more normally with added space between them. On the down side, he can’t deny that he misses the feeling of Kuroo’s arms around him.</p><p>“Better?”</p><p>“Much,” Tsukishima lies.</p><p>Sighing contently, Kuroo flops onto his back with his arms tucked behind his head, looking up at the endless blue sky. “I can’t explain it, Tsukki, but I feel like this is gonna be the best summer ever.”</p><p>Tsukishima follows Kuroo’s lead, laying on the soft grass next to him. “Have you heard back from New Rome University yet?”</p><p>“Hm?” Kuroo says distractedly, tracing the outline of a cloud. “Oh. No, not yet.”</p><p>“That’s weird, isn’t it?” Tsukishima props himself up on his elbow to look over at Kuroo. “Akaashi and Bokuto heard back weeks ago.”</p><p>“Yeah, well, they both applied before me.” Kuroo shrugs. “I’m sure I’ll hear back any day now.”</p><p>“Hm. Maybe you should Iris message someone over there and ask -"</p><p>“Tsukki!” Kuroo cuts him off with a laugh. “It’s fine, really. Don’t worry so much, you’ll wrinkle your pretty little face.” He teasingly pokes at the furrow between Tsukishima’s brows, and it’s obviously a joke, but it still makes his face flush with heat.</p><p>“Shut up,” he grumbles, batting Kuroo’s hand away.</p><p>Kuroo laughs, but allows himself to be pushed away, falling onto his back again. “Seriously,” he says up to the sky, voice going soft. “I don’t want you to worry about me anymore, Tsukki. You’ve done more than your fair share of it.”</p><p>“What does that mean?”</p><p>“Just,” Kuroo gestures vaguely. “Ever since I first got here, you’ve been looking after me. Making sure I was making friends and adjusting okay. And I appreciate that, I do, but I think I’m really okay now. I don’t want you to feel like you have to do it anymore.”</p><p>“Trust me, I don’t,” Tsukishima lies again. “There aren’t enough hours in the day for all the worrying I’d have to do for you.”</p><p>“Alright, good.” Kuroo smiles peacefully, his eyes slipping shut. Tsukishima allows himself a brief moment of weakness to let his gaze trace the edges and slopes of Kuroo’s profile, the way the sun makes his eyelashes cast delicate shadows across his cheekbones and the strong cut of his jaw, before laying down closing his eyes, too.</p><p>They lapse into a comfortable silence, the sunlight warming their skin and gentle breeze combing through their hair. It’s almost easy to forget, laying here like this, with Kuroo so solid and real at his side, that one day it’ll all come to an end.</p><p>Maybe if they just keep their eyes closed, they can pretend forever that it’s the first summer again. When things were simpler, and Tsukishima’s biggest worry was how they were going to beat the Ares cabin in capture the flag, or if Chiron was going to let Kuroo sit at the Athena table during meals because Tsukishima knew he hated to eat alone.</p><p>“I hope this is what I see,” Kuroo announces suddenly.</p><p>“What?” Lazily, Tsukishima peeks one eye open and finds Kuroo leaning on his elbow, looking down at him with a small curve to his lips. With Kuroo hovering just over him, and the sun shining behind him, the son of Hades looks like he’s glowing golden around the edges and it matches the color of his eyes perfectly. Tsukishima’s breath sticks thickly in his throat. He almost looks away, feeling unworthy to take in such a sight.</p><p>“You know how everyone says that right before you die, your whole life flashes before your eyes, or whatever?”</p><p>“Um, yes?” Tsukishima had almost forgotten what they were talking about. His skin prickles under the weight of Kuroo’s stare.</p><p>“I don’t want to see all that,” Kuroo says. “Right before I die, I just wanna see this. You laying next to me in the strawberry field, with the wind in your hair and the sun hitting you just right so that I can see the freckles on your nose.” He nods to himself, satisfied and smiling at Tsukishima with warm embers in his eyes. “That would be a pretty alright way to die, I think.”</p><p>There suddenly isn’t enough air in Tsukishima’s lungs. There isn’t enough air in the <i>world</i> and his chest constricts painfully. It’s actually gotten to the point where it physically <i>hurts</i> him - how much he wants to love Kuroo. How badly he wants to tell him. To kiss him. To touch him.</p><p>
  <i>No.</i>
</p><p>He forces himself to focus on the center of Kuroo’s chest, right where his puzzle piece fits. Kuroo’s friend. He promised to always be Kuroo’s friend. His place is as Kuroo’s friend.</p><p>He repeats the words in his head a few dozen times before he trusts himself to speak again.</p><p>“What is it with you heroes and always planning on dying?” Tsukishima’s voice breaks on more than one word. Kuroo chuckles, a low sort of rumble, like a car engine purring, and Tsukishima doesn’t pull back when he leans in closer.</p><p>Flashing red lights and blaring alarms are going off in his head, but he still doesn’t move.</p><p>“I like it when you do that,” Kuroo admits quietly.</p><p>“Do what?”</p><p>“Call me a hero.”</p><p>“It’s not necessarily a compliment,” Tsukishima protests weakly.</p><p>“I’m okay with that.” Kuroo brushes a blonde curl out of Tsukishima’s eyes and he nearly melts at the tender gesture. Kuroo’s breath is deep and uneven, eyes darting all across Tsukishima’s face, fervent, searching.</p><p>“Kuroo…” Tsukishima says in a hushed warning. <i>Oh Gods, this is bad.</i></p><p>“Tsukki,” Kuroo starts, and Tsukishima’s heart stutters to a stop, not even daring to breathe. <i>Don’t, please don’t do this to me, I’m so weak.</i> “I -"</p><p>“Oi, Kuroo!”</p><p>The sudden call of his name from somewhere in the distance startles Kuroo into jerking his hand back, eyes widening like he hadn’t realized what he was doing until that moment. Tsukishima sucks in a harsh breath, silently thanking the Gods for Taketora Yamamoto. He’s pretty sure he’s never sent up <i>that</i> particular prayer before, but, well. Desperate times.</p><p>The son of Dionysus finally spots them, breaking into a run, waving his arms as if it would be possible for them to miss him, with his two-toned mohawk and ungodly loud voice.</p><p>“Hey man, there you are! Oh, sup, Tsukishima!” Yamamoto greets them exuberantly. Tsukishima fights down the urge to roll his eyes in response because, well, he kind of owes the idiot, so instead he nods politely.</p><p>“Dude.” Kuroo raises his arm to knock fists with Yamamoto, gaze still flitting over to Tsukishima out of the corner of his eye. “What’s up?”</p><p>“Been looking for you all over, bro! Chiron’s asking for ya.” Yamamoto jerks a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the Big House. His fingers are stained dark purple as usual, from all the grape Kool-Aid he’s constantly drinking.</p><p>“Chiron?” Kuroo’s eyebrows draw together. “What for?”</p><p>Yamamoto shrugs. “Beats me, I’m just the messenger. Sounded kinda important, though.”</p><p>“You should go,” Tsukishima urges, probably too forcefully. <i>You should go very, very far away from me before I kiss your stupid face and ruin our friendship.</i></p><p>Kuroo looks at him with an unreadable expression before nodding and letting Yamamoto help haul him to his feet. It seems like he wants to say something more, but then Yamamoto has an arm hooked around his shoulder, chatting incessantly as he leads him away.</p><p>Tsukishima waits until they’re far enough away that he can’t hear even the faintest whisper of their voices, then promptly buries his face in his hands and lets out a long, frustrated groan.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Tsukishima’s so distracted looking for Kuroo at dinner that he doesn’t notice the line of kids in front of him waiting for their turn at the pavilion fire stop moving forward, and he bumps into the back of the person in front of him.</p><p>“Oops. Sorry,” he says to the person he ran into, recognizing them from behind as Lev Haiba from the Hermes cabin. He’s pretty unmistakable, with his tall, lanky frame and white-silver hair. As far as people he could have run into goes, Lev is pretty high up on the list. Definitely one of the least likely people at camp to want to start a fight over it - over anything, really. Lev is one of the happiest, most easy-going people Tsukishima has ever met.</p><p>Which is why when Lev turns to look back at him, Tsukishima startles, feeling his blood run ice cold at the look in his normally vibrant, dancing eyes. They’re empty. Hauntingly so, with dark purple rings drooping beneath them. He looks like he hasn’t slept in years.</p><p>“Okay,” Lev says. Even his voice is void of all life. Then he turns back around without another word.</p><p>“Poor guy,” Sugawara murmurs from behind him, laden with empathy. </p><p>“What happened to him?” Tsukishima whispers back. He can’t see anything physically wrong with the son of Hermes, but he knows that sometimes the wounds they suffer are more than skin-deep.</p><p>His brother frowns, biting his bottom lip. “It’s not him, it’s Yaku. He was one of the campers on the quest that hasn’t come back yet.”</p><p>The icy feeling in Tsukishima’s veins comes back full force, the summer air suddenly feeling much too frigid. </p><p>Three campers had left on a quest nearly a full month ago, and were expected to finish up in three days. At most. It wasn’t even supposed to be a particularly dangerous quest, just some stupid errand to retrieve the Shield of Ajax from a museum in the city. Mortals didn’t even know when they had some of the most powerful objects in history right under their noses sometimes, and it could be dangerous to them, so demigods were often sent to take them back. They were pretty routine quests, really.</p><p>It had been weeks since their last contact with camp.</p><p>Lev and Yaku were always a mystery to Tsukishima, but then again, most things regarding love and feelings were. Over the years, he’d watched them go from constant bickering, with Yaku regularly kicking Lev’s ass all over camp, to wearing each other’s camp necklaces. Whatever they were, Tsukishima knows that Yaku is a part of Lev.</p><p>“Oh,” Tsukishima says dumbly. He’s not great with knowing what to say in situations like these, but luckily Sugawara knows that about him.</p><p>Without saying a word, Sugawara knows that Tsukishima is thinking about those three eternally dark days when Kuroo didn’t return from his quest. When Tsukishima had lost a piece of himself, too. He can’t even imagine if those days had stretched into weeks like this. He might not have made it.</p><p>When it’s his turn at the fire, he scrapes off an extra large portion of his dinner.</p><p>“For Yaku, and the others.” Then, he scrapes off a little more. “And for Lev,” he adds.</p><p>There’s an open spot between Sugawara and Akaashi at the Athena table and Tsukishima slides in easily between them, eyes still roaming around distractedly. Bokuto and Sakusa are already sitting at the Big Three table, but there’s an obvious absence.</p><p>“He went to see Chiron, didn’t he?” Akaashi asks, following Tsukishima’s line of sight.</p><p>“Yeah. It’s been a while.”</p><p>Akaashi hums, but doesn’t say the words they’re both thinking.</p><p>The last time Kuroo was missing from dinner like this was two years ago, the night before he left for his first quest. Plus, there weren’t a lot of reasons for Chiron to keep a camper for so long like this, unless they were engaged in a particularly riveting game of chess, which Tsukishima happened to know for a fact they weren’t because he had tried to teach Kuroo how to play last year and the son of Hades simply didn’t have the patience for it.</p><p>Tsukishima doesn’t know what he’ll do if Kuroo leaves again. Just the thought of spending any part of their precious remaining time apart from each other makes him want to curl up in a ball and cry. Maybe Kuroo feels the way, and would turn down any invites from other campers this year?</p><p>“You should eat something,” Akaashi chides him gently, and Tsukishima realizes he hasn’t taken a bite of his food yet.</p><p>All he can think about is the look in Lev’s eyes.</p><p>“I’m not that hungry, actually.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Kuroo eventually turns up again, like he always does.</p><p>Tsukishima is lounging on his bed, reading a book about the famous paleontologist, Jack Horner, who discovered his first fossil when he was only eight years old. He’s just getting to the good part when he’s rudely interrupted.</p><p>“Oh, Kei!” Daishou sing-songs, distracting him from his reading and already managing to get on his nerves with just those two words. His brother is standing in the doorway with a sly grin on his face. “Someone’s here to see you! It’s your little boyf- mmph!”</p><p>Suna walks into the cabin behind Daishou, grabbing him in a headlock and covering his mouth with his hand.</p><p>“Kuroo is here to see you,” Suna informs him calmly, while Daishou twists and thrashes helplessly. It’s useless, Tsukishima knows. He’s been caught in one of his older brother’s headlocks before, and it’s nearly impossible to escape him. Suna’s too flexible.</p><p>“Thanks.” Tsukishima places his bookmark between his pages and swallows hard to try and force his heart back into his chest where it belongs, instead of throwing it up all over the floor. He makes sure to whack Daishou on the back of the head for good measure as he walks past them and into the sticky night air.</p><p>Kuroo is waiting for him, leaning against one of the porch railings with his ankles crossed, staring up at the setting sun with a conflicted look on his face. He’s still unfairly handsome, even with his eyebrows furrowed and the little creases on his forehead.</p><p>“Hey,” Tsukishima knocks their shoulders together to get his attention. “Where have you been? What did Chiron want?”</p><p>Kuroo stares up at the sky for a few moments longer.</p><p>“Walk with me?” He finally asks.</p><p>Dread fills the pit of Tsukishima’s stomach as he says, “Okay.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p><i>At least it’s a nice night,</i> Tsukishima tries to look on the bright side, as Kuroo leads him silently down towards the lake. He follows Kuroo all the way out to the end of the pier, and they sit next to each other looking out across the fiery reflection of the sunset over the water with their legs dangling below them, Tsukishima’s white tennis shoes in stark contrast with Kuroo’s patented black combat boots when their feet knock together.</p><p>“It’s another quest, isn’t it?” Tsukishima eventually brings himself to ask. Kuroo sighs heavily and nods, confirming Tsukishima’s worst fears. He swallows down the panic rising in his throat before asking, “Whose?”</p><p>“Mine.”</p><p>Correction: <i>This</i> is now Tsukishima’s worst fear. The only thing worse than Kuroo being invited on someone else’s quest is Kuroo being given his own quest. If the Oracle chooses him, there’s no way for him to turn it down without some serious consequences down the line. One doesn't just mess with the Fates plan and walk away unscathed.</p><p>“I’m sorry, did you just say yours?” Tsukishima hears his own voice from somewhere outside of his body.</p><p>“Yeah, it’s, uh,” Kuroo huffs a rough laugh. “Apparently, my dad asked for me specifically. His dog ran away.”</p><p>Tsukishima blinks at him. “His…dog? You mean Cerberus? The giant, three-headed beast that guards the gates of the Underworld? <i>That</i> dog?”</p><p>“That’s the one.” Kuroo nods.</p><p>“Oh, that’s…” Tsukishima pauses, searching for the right word. “Bad.”</p><p>“Very bad,” Kuroo agrees with a small laugh. Tsukishima frowns.</p><p>“How does that even happen? I mean, Cerberus has never run away before and it’s not like he couldn’t have? The Underworld isn’t locked or anything, so why would he run now? What’s the -"</p><p>“Tsukki, Tsukki!” Kuroo cuts him off laughing. “Slow your roll, Brainiac. I have no idea. All I know is that Persephone apparently loves that dog, so if she comes home to the Underworld in a few weeks and he isn’t there, she’s gonna be <i>pissed.</i> And when Persephone gets pissed, she goes back to stay with her mother, which means -"</p><p>“No seasons,” Tsukishima finishes, gears in his brain already turning a mile a minute. If Persephone doesn’t return to the Underworld for part of the year, spring and summer would never end. It would be a global disaster, an ecological disruption of catastrophic proportion. The agricultural industry would be decimated, the icecaps would melt an an accelerated rate, not to mention -"Wait, who’s guarding the souls in the Underworld if Cerberus isn’t there?”</p><p>The Hellhound of Hades’ main job, besides being Persephone’s pampered pet, was to make sure none of the souls left the Underworld. Kind of an important job to give to a mutt, if you asked Tsukishima.</p><p>“Hades has to do it,” Kuroo says. “Which is why he can’t afford to leave the Underworld to find Cerberus himself.”</p><p>“Not that the Gods wouldn’t have made a bunch of demigods do their dirty work for them anyways,” Tsukishima grumbles to himself. “But why does it have to be you? Can't you just tell Hades no? It’s not fair, I mean it’s our last summer together, why can’t somebody else -"</p><p>“Woah, woah,” Kuroo holds up his hands, stopping Tsukishima’s rambling. “What the heck do you mean ‘our last summer together’? You the one planning on dying now or something?”</p><p>“No, but you’re graduated now.” Tsukishima stares down at his hands, twisting his fingers together miserable. “You and Akaashi and Bokuto. You’re all going to go off to college together in the fall, and who knows what’ll happen after that?”</p><p>“I do,” Kuroo says firmly. “We’ll all still be together, no matter what.”</p><p>“You can’t possibly know that.”</p><p>“Let’s just -" Kuroo tugs frustratedly at the longer pieces of his fringe that fall into his eyes. “Can you please not worry about that right now and just trust me?”</p><p>Tsukishima opens his mouth and wants to argue more, but there’s something pleading in Kuroo’s eyes that makes him swallow the words down. <i>Trust him.</i> Tsukishima can do that. It’s pretty much all he does.</p><p>“Fine,” he relents. “But why does it have to be you? I mean, why did Hades ask for you specifically? No offense, but it’s not like he’s ever been Father of the Year.”</p><p>“Yeah, no kidding.” Kuroo laughs humorlessly. “But Cerberus is a creature of the Underworld, which means he wouldn’t hurt a child of Hades. Plus, he can Shadow Travel, which means I’m the only demigod who would even have the slightest chance of keeping up with him.”</p><p>“That…actually makes a lot of sense.” Tsukishima feels his lips turn into a frown - not a <i>pout,</i> no matter how many times Sugawara insists that it is. He’s not happy about it, but he can’t see an out here. “I’ll see you when you get back then, I guess?”</p><p>“Actually, Tsukki…” Kuroo starts, expression serious as Tsukishima has ever seen it. “I want you to come with me.”</p><p>There were a lot of kids at camp who waited their entire lives for this moment. For the chance to go on a quest, to fight monsters out in the real world and finally put all those years of training to use. To prove their strength, and maybe even gain favor with the Gods. </p><p>Tsukishima was never one of those kids. </p><p>He was in no rush to leave camp, and why would he be? Everything he needed was within these magical borders. He had no dreams of chasing glory, he knew he wasn’t strong or brave enough for it anyways. If anything, he would only hold a quest back.</p><p>Plus, if he was being brutally honest with himself, Tsukishima is a coward. He’s never fought a monster for real, not outside of the camp boundaries, and the ones they kept in the forest for training weren’t very dangerous. The most real danger he’s ever been in was getting between Tanaka and the last marshmallow at the campfire.</p><p>“There are plenty of stronger fighters than me. You should bring one of them, instead.” The words feel like shards of broken glass as they leave his mouth.</p><p>“I don’t need a strong fighter. I’ve already got me and Bo for that,” Kuroo insists, suddenly grabbing both of Tsukishima’s hands in his, rough callouses rubbing against Tsukishima’s smooth skin. “What I need is the sharpest mind at camp.”</p><p>Tsukishima feels his heart stutter in his chest. He can’t look Kuroo directly in his piercing gold eyes.</p><p>“Suga, or - or Akaashi -"</p><p>“I don’t want Suga or Akaashi!” Kuroo’s grip tightens. “I want you!”</p><p>Tsukishima bites down on his tongue until he tastes blood. “For…the quest?”</p><p>The pause before Kuroo answers stretches on for too long.</p><p>“Sure,” he says slowly, releasing Tsukishima’s hands. “For now, let’s say the quest.”</p><p>
  <i>For now?</i>
</p><p>“Look,” Kuroo sighs, running a hand through his dark hair. “It’s not just about completing the quest for me, okay? I have my own reasons for agreeing to this. If I can find Cerberus and bring him back to the Underworld, there’s a chance that Hades might be so grateful, he’ll grant me a favor.”</p><p>“Kuroo,” Tsukishima says, stomach dropping. “You can’t -"</p><p>“I know,” Kuroo says quickly. “I know I can’t bring my mom and sister back, but if I could just - Gods, Tsukki,” he exhales roughly. “I would do anything to just see them one more time. Just five minutes, that’s all I want. So there’s more riding on this for me than just completing some stupid quest, y’know? And you’re the person I believe in most in the world. The only one I trust enough to do this with me. So please, Tsukki. Come with me.”</p><p>With the sunset reflecting off the water into Kuroo’s eyes, making them look fiery with his resolve and his passion, he’s never been harder for Tsukishima to resist.</p><p>“I - I need some more time to think about it,” Tsukishima finally decides. Just a night to sleep on it, maybe draw up a list of pros and cons.</p><p>His answer doesn’t seem to please Kuroo.</p><p>“Gods, Tsukki, are you kidding me right now?” Kuroo demands, fire in his eyes suddenly turning dangerous.</p><p>“Well, what the hell do you want from me?” Tsukishima shoots back, feeling his defenses rising. “You’re asking a lot of me here, okay! I don’t think it’s too much to ask for a little more time to think.”</p><p>“I wanted you to say ‘yes’!” Kuroo shouts, voice breaking in a moment of raw vulnerability that makes Tsukishima want to give him anything he wants. “No hesitation, no second-guessing yourself, because it’s <i>us,</i> Tsukki. It’s me and you, and I’m pretty sure that we could defy the Fates themselves if we wanted to!” His expression suddenly falls, as if he’s come to a horrible realization. “But you…clearly don’t feel the same.”</p><p>“That’s not what this is about,” Tsukishima says, desperate to chase that dejected look off of Kuroo’s face. “This has nothing to do with…us.”</p><p>Kuroo stands, and when he looks down on him, Tsukishima feels small and foolish.</p><p>“Yeah, actually,” Kuroo says tersely. “This has everything to do with us.” He turns to walk away, but before he can get very far, he stops and without turning back says, “So much for always being there, right?”</p><p>Tsukishima digs his fingernails into his palms until the skin breaks ten times over and refuses to cry.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Tsukishima hates dreaming.</p><p>For demigods, dreams are never just that - high brain activity during the REM cycle of sleep that conjures up subconscious images. They always have a purpose, a meaning. A warning. Some demigods have even been known to dream about occurrences that are happening halfway across the world at the same time that they’re happening, or an event from hundreds of years in the past that there’s no way they should have known about. They can be dangerous.</p><p>That night, after being invited on Kuroo’s quest, Tsukishima dreams.</p><p>In his dream, he’s at sea during a terrible storm. There’s no land in sight, and the water swirling around him is so dark, it looks black and menacing. Thunder crashes and lighting strikes dangerous close to the lifeboat he’s clinging onto as the waves thrash him around.</p><p>And Kuroo is there. In the water, he’s drowning.</p><p>Tsukishima desperately reaches out to him, screams his name, but the sounds of the storm and the ocean are too loud and Kuroo can’t hear him. He tries to stay hanging on to his lifeboat with one hand while reaching for Kuroo with the other, but he’s too far away and Tsukishima can’t reach him.</p><p>The only way for Tsukishima to save Kuroo from drowning is to let go of his own lifeboat.</p><p>He doesn’t need to ask Kunimi, the camp’s resident expert dream interpreter, what it’s supposed to mean. It doesn’t take a son of Hypnos to interpret that.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“What do you mean they’re already gone?”</p><p>Akaashi frowns sympathetically, not looking too happy about the situation either. </p><p>“They left early this morning, before breakfast. After talking to you last night Kuroo went to get his prophecy from the Oracle, and they seemed to be in a pretty big rush after that. Bokuto didn’t even - he didn’t even say goodbye?” He finishes uncertainly, obviously not used to being slighted by the son of Zeus like that. Bokuto quite literally worshipped the ground that Akaashi walked on, so for him to leave without stopping by the Athena cabin to say goodbye - they must have <i>really</i> been in a rush.</p><p>Tsukishima purses his lips and tries not to let his disappointment show too clearly on his face. After all that time he spent last night agonizing over whether or not to accept Kuroo’s invitation, he woke up to find they had gone without him. Apparently, Kuroo hadn’t really needed him that badly after all.</p><p>“Who else did they end up bringing with them?”</p><p>The frown on Akaashi’s face deepens. “No one.”</p><p>“Wha - No one? That’s not - they can’t do that! Quests are supposed to be three people! Three is the sacred number, it helps protect them!”</p><p>“Trust me,” Akaashi sighs. “We tried to tell them that, but Kuroo was insistent.”</p><p>“Why didn’t you just go with them?” Tsukishima asks. He had honestly been surprised to see Akaashi was still here when he realized the quest had gone on without him. Akaashi was the obvious choice for their third.</p><p>Akaashi shrugs. “Kuroo never invited me. I guess if he couldn’t have you, he didn’t want anyone else.” The barest hint of a smile flickers at his lips. “Kind of romantic, in an obtuse sort of way. Don’t you think?”</p><p>A flush starts to creep up the back of Tsukishima’s neck and he valiantly tries to fight it down, but there’s no use trying to hide things from Akaashi. <i>Have I really been that bad at hiding it?</i></p><p>“How long have you known?” He asks, resignedly.</p><p>“Hmm,” Akaashi taps his chin with one elegant finger. “Since you were thirteen.”</p><p>“What?” Tsukishima balks. “But - I didn’t - I mean, I wasn’t even -"</p><p>Akaashi laughs and waves off Tsukishima’s fumbling. “Alright, maybe not like that, but ever since the first time you told Bokuto and I about him, I knew he was someone special to you. I just didn’t realize how truly special he was going to be.” He grabs one of Tsukishima’s wrists and squeezes gently. “Which is why I know you have to go.”</p><p>As terrified as he is right now, Tsukishima knows he has to go, too. Even if it means letting go of his own life raft, he’ll never let Kuroo drift away at sea alone.</p><p>“How?” He asks. “There’s no way Chiron will let me go after them now, I’m not technically a part of the quest.” </p><p>Akaashi’s eyes glint with a mischief to rival the Miya twins’.</p><p>“That’s why you’re going to need some help.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“You’ll have to wait until nightfall to leave,” Sugawara explains, his voice slightly muffled from underneath his bed. He rummages around for a few moments more before making a triumphant sound and popping back out with something clutched in his hand. Tsukishima gasps when he recognizes it.</p><p>Faded navy fabric with a New York Yankees logo slightly fraying at the edges.</p><p>“I can’t take that,” Tsukishima holds his hands up and refuses to accept the baseball cap from his brother.</p><p>“Sure you can,” Sugawara insists.</p><p>“But that’s - That’s Athena’s Invisibility Cap! Mom gave it to you, I can’t just -"</p><p>“That’s right, she gave it to <i>me.”</i> Sugawara takes Tsukishima’s hands and forces him to accept the magical object. “Which means that I can decide who can and can’t use it, and right now, you need it more than I do. So just take it, will you?”</p><p>The thrum of strong magic pulsing through the object is palpable, and Tsukishima’s skin breaks out into goosebumps as soon as it touches his skin. Athena’s Invisibility Cap. He can’t believe he’s actually <i>holding</i> it.</p><p>Tsukishima swallows hard, emotion clogging his throat. He knows how much the cap means to Sugawara, it was a gift to him from Athena when he completed his first quest at age eleven. For him to trust Tsukishima with something so precious to him… Akaashi smiles encouragingly, and Tsukishima is so, so lucky to have brothers like them. He must have been some great hero in a past life to deserve this, like Jason or maybe Perseus.</p><p>“Alright. Thank you,” Tsukishima says. “But wait, even if I do manage to sneak out without anyone seeing me, how am I going to find Kuroo and Bokuto? They have an entire day’s head start on me, and I have no idea where they’re headed.”</p><p>“I have something that can help with that.” Akaashi pulls open to drawer on his nightside stand and hands Tsukishima a folded up piece of paper.</p><p>“This is…a map?” Tsukishima glances down at it. “No offense Akaashi, but I’m not sure how this is going to tell me where they are.”</p><p>“Really?” Akaashi raises an amused eyebrow. “Why don’t you look at it again?”</p><p>It doesn’t seem like it’ll do much good, but Tsukishima dutifully takes a closer look at the paper map, examining it carefully. It just looks like a regular map to him, but the longer he looks at it, the image in front of him starts to blur and shift before his eyes, until it’s focused in on a nearby bus route. Then, a little icon of a lightning bolt appears, traveling down the line.</p><p>“Is that - Is that Bokuto?” Tsukishima’s jaw nearly drops, watching the lighting bolt moving across the paper. “You have a map that tracks Bokuto’s location?”</p><p>“Wouldn’t you, if you were me?”</p><p>“Good point,” Tsukishima concedes, folding up the map and slipping it into his back pocket along with the Invisibility Cap, careful not to bend or crease either of his brother’s magical loans.</p><p>“It can get pretty detailed the closer you get to him,” Akaashi says. “I needed something that would be able pinpoint his location on a small scale since I originally used it to make sure he wasn’t skipping classes.”</p><p>“Where did you even get it from?” Sugawara asks, sounding impressed.</p><p>“It’s the product of the combined skills of the Hephaestus and Hecate cabins. I had to take their bathroom cleaning duties for a month in exchange for it.” Akaashi’s voice is grim, eyes faraway as he shudders at the memory.</p><p>“Seems like a lot of work just to keep Bokuto from skipping his classes,” Tsukishima points out, smirking when the tips of Akaashi’s ears turn pink.</p><p>“You’re one to talk!” Sugawara laughs brightly, and Tsukishima feels his own ears turning hot.</p><p>Touché.</p><p>“Anyways,” Akaashi rolls his eyes. “If you travel through the night, you should have no trouble catching up with them. They’re probably going to travel all day and rest at night, and Kuroo is smart enough not to waste any energy Shadow Traveling when they still don’t have an exact destination in mind.”</p><p>“I should probably get some rest during the day if I’ll be traveling all night, then.”</p><p>“You should,” Akaashi agrees. “But first, there’s someone else you need to see.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>It doesn’t take Tsukishima long to find Tendou. </p><p>The son of Ares never usually strays too far from the training grounds, and sure enough, he’s there today, sweat matting his fiery red hair to his forehead and swinging his favorite kopis sword wildly at the wooden dummies surrounding him. Tendou was the only demigod Tsukishima knew who used a kopis, making him easy to identify even when he’s wearing his full battle armor. The blade is long and single-edged, with a unique curve to it that made it ideal for one-armed blows that dealt the same strength as a battle axe.</p><p>Tsukishima did his best to head in the other direction when he spotted that blade in capture the flag.</p><p>He had seen Tendou training hundreds of times before, knew in intimate detail the way he slashed and cut down dummy after dummy with precision and grit and a deviant smile on his face. Today, however, there was no such smile on Tendou’s face. In its place was a severe and hardened expression, lacking all of its usual playfulness.</p><p>Something about it makes Tsukishima take pause and wait until Tendou finishes cutting down every last dummy before he approaches him, rather than interrupt.</p><p>Tendou’s wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his forearm when Tsukishima finally gets his attention, and the serious look in his eyes melts into something much more familiar.</p><p>“Well, well, Little Kei Kei. I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time,” Tendou says when Tsukishima finishes explaining the situation.</p><p>Tsukishima has no idea what that’s supposed to mean, but he follows along as Tendou leads him to the armory.</p><p>“Wait right here, I gotta make sure it’s still where I left it,” Tendou explains, without actually explaining anything, and popping into the large shed.</p><p>“Make sure what’s where you left it?” Tsukishima calls in after him.</p><p>“You need a weapon for a quest, don’t ya?” Tendou asks, followed by muffled cursing and the sound of metal breastplates clanging to the ground.</p><p>Tsukishima looks at the rack of celestial bronze swords sitting right in front of him with confusion. He was just planning on bringing one of them with him. They were the most commonly used weapons around camp, plus he’s been training with them since he was a kid. Granted, he’s not that great with them, but his role isn’t going to involve much fighting anyways. Hopefully.</p><p>Finally, there’s a triumphant cry from inside and Tendou reemerges, shaking the cobwebs out of his hair and proudly presenting Tsukishima with a golden cylinder about the size of a toilet paper roll.</p><p>“Here you go!” Tendou offers the cylinder to him and Tsukishima stares at it.</p><p>“Um. No thanks.”</p><p>Tendou pouts and thrusts the object, glinting golden when it catches the sunlight, towards him more forcefully. “What the heck do ya mean ‘no thanks’?”</p><p>“I’m just gonna bring one of those,” Tsukishima points to the rack of swords. “Also, that thing looks pretty useless, unless you’re planning on decorating a really fancy bathroom.”</p><p>“Listen close, Kei Kei,” Tendou throws a sweaty arm around his shoulders. “I’m gonna be honest with you. You’re a pretty shitty swordsman.”</p><p>“Gee, thanks,” Tsukishima says drily, trying to shrug the other boy off. He really doesn’t have time for Tendou’s weird games today.</p><p>“Hey, it’s not your fault!” Tendou pulls Tsukishima closer when he tries to get away. “You just don’t have the right build for it, y’know? You don’t got enough body weight to counterbalance the blade, and not enough upper body strength to make up for it. You need a weapon better suited to your body type.” Tendou pokes Tsukishima in the forehead, and slaps the golden toilet paper roll into his hands with finality. “So why don’t ya quit being so stubborn and just try this on for size?”</p><p>Tsukishima stares at the object in his hand, turning it over and examining it from all angles. He finds a small button embedded into the side of the cylinder and slides his thumb over it, not pressing yet, giving Tendou a questioning look. The son of Ares nods encouragingly, taking a few huge steps away.</p><p>“You might wanna hold it a little further away from your body. And angle it perpendicular so you don’t - yeah, that’s good!” Tendou holds his hands up to freeze Tsukishima in the position he’s standing in, with the metal cylinder held in his hand, the flat ends pointing away from his body. “Alright, let ‘er rip!” Tendou cheers, watching with shining eyes as Tsukishima presses down on the button.</p><p>A surprised yelp escapes him as both ends of the cylinder shoot out, extending on either side until Tsukishima is holding in his hand a long, shiny golden spear with pointed tips on both ends of it. He stares at the beautiful weapon in awe, surprised at how light and perfectly balanced it feels in his hand.</p><p>“There!” Tendou declares happily. “A long, skinny weapon for a long, skinny boy. Feels better than a sword, doesn’t it?”</p><p>“Yeah,” Tsukishima agrees breathlessly. “This is - Where did this even come from? I can’t believe none of the other campers have taken this for themselves yet.”</p><p>“Ah, ah,” Tendou sings. “This weapon isn’t for any other campers. This one is just for you.”</p><p>Tsukishima frowns, turning the weapon over in his hands. “What do you mean?”</p><p>“I mean, this weapon was <i>literally</i> made just for you. Oikawa designed the thing himself, would ya believe it?” Tendou chuckles. “I guess designing clothes and designing weapons isn’t all that different at the end of the day. He said he got inspired watching you training one day since you were such garbage at fighting with a sword.”</p><p>“Hey!”</p><p>“When he noticed that the way your body moved when you were fighting and the way the sword’s blade moved never quite matched up, he decided that you needed something more fluid. More graceful. He went back to his cabin that night and stayed up till morning drawing the thing up for you.”</p><p>“Oikawa?” Tsukishima gapes, but really he shouldn’t be that surprised. Who else in the world could have designed something so effortlessly gorgeous like this? “He did all that just for me?”</p><p>Tendou’s smile softens at the incredulous tone of Tsukishima’s question. “Course he did, dummy. Just because you’re all grown up and don’t need us to take care of you anymore doesn't mean that those of us who have been doing it almost your whole life are gonna stop now. It’s just muscle memory, like fighting, isn’t it?”</p><p>“That’s -" Tsukishima looks away, fighting down very un-grown up tears. “I mean, you all don’t have to do that, but - Thanks, I guess,” he finishes in a mumble.</p><p>“We never did it because we had to.” Tendou slaps him on the back. “Now let me finish my story! So then, Oikawa brought the drawing to Iwaizumi, who was more than happy to try his hand at actually crafting the thing, and then they brought it to me, to keep it safe and hidden for you. Your big bros asked us not to give it to you until the day came that you would need it.” He cocks his head to the side. “Guess that’s today, huh?”</p><p>Tsukishima bites his lip, head spinning. Oikawa and Iwaizumi made this beautiful weapon together? They made it for <i>him?</i> For the second time that day, Tsukishima feels undeserving of all the kindness he’s being shown, now not only from his own siblings, but from all the other campers who had been looking after him since he was a kid.</p><p>“I - I don’t know what to say,” Tsukishima admits thickly.</p><p>“Don’t gotta say anything,” Tendou says. His smile turns wicked. “But you do gotta do her the honor of learning to use her right. It’s what a weapon this gorgeous deserves.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Tsukishima spends the next few hours training harder than he ever has in his entire life.</p><p>They barely have a day to get him comfortable enough with the weapon to keep himself alive out in the real world, and Tendou takes his job of teaching Tsukishima the intricacies of spear-wielding very seriously. Fighting with a spear is nothing like fighting with a sword, and Tsukishima is using muscles in his shoulders and his back that he didn’t even know he had before. It hurts. He aches everywhere. He wants to throw in the towel and quit so, so many times.</p><p>But then he thinks about Kuroo. Thinks of the hurt on his face the night before, thinks about how much he disappointed him.</p><p>He’s not going to do that ever again.</p><p>So he keeps training, even when he collapses three times and has to pull his screaming body back to its feet over and over again, because Tsukishima wants to stay by Kuroo’s side. And to do that, he needs to be stronger.</p><p>Tendou - and Oikawa - had been right. Despite all of the muscle aches, Tsukishima is better at using a spear in a few short hours than he was at using a sword after eleven years of training. The length and the lack of hilt to grip onto takes some getting used to, but he gets the hang of it.</p><p>Slowly but surely, he gets the hang of it, until he’s knocked Tendou off his feet and has the point of one sharp end pointed in his face.</p><p>Tsukishima has never won a spar again Tendou before in his life. </p><p>The son of Ares falls onto his back and laughs and laughs, and its the most victorious sounding battle cry Tsukishima has ever heard. He follows the other boy’s lead and finally drops to the ground beside him with his own smile tugging at his lips, retracting the length of the spear until it fit into the palm of his hand once again.</p><p>“Does it have a name yet?” He asks, stroking a thumb over the smooth surface. All the best weapons had names. There was even speculation that naming them made them stronger.</p><p>“Nah, figured we’d leave the fun part to you.” Tendou grins, pulling a dandelion out of the ground and twirling it between his fingers.</p><p>Tsukishima runs his hands over the delicate metalwork and imagines Oikawa hunched over his desk by lamplight, pencil scribbling furiously over the pages of his sketchbook. Imagines him the next day, watching over Iwaizumi’s shoulder as the son of Hephaestus painstakingly forged the celestial bronze double-headed spear, bringing his creation to life. Looks over at Tendou, sprawled on his back, chest heaving with exhaustion and forehead glistening with sweat from spending all day teaching Tsukishima how to use it right.</p><p>Futakuchi’s voice comes to him in that moment, a distant but very clear memory from two summers ago. <i>That warm, fuzzy kind of love that you feel for you friends? It’s called </i>philia.</p><p>“Philia,” Tsukishima decides, and just saying it out loud feels right.</p><p>“Philia, huh?” Tendou repeats, propping himself on his elbows to give Tsukishima a funny grin. “Doesn’t really strike fear into the hearts of your enemies, but I like it.”</p><p>It’s nearly late afternoon by the time Tendou deems Tsukishima adequate enough with the spear to keep himself alive, and if he’s lucky, Tsukishima can get in a few hours of sleep before the sun is set and he has to leave.</p><p>Before he can go, the son of Ares stops him with a hand on his shoulder.</p><p>“Listen, Kei,” he starts nervously, and just the fact that he uses his proper name makes Tsukishima stand a little straighter, pay close attention. “If you happen to see Wakatoshi out there, would you tell him that he’s late for our lunch appointment?” A tiny flicker of a grin touches his lips, his expression lifting the slightest bit. “That’ll really drive him crazy. He hates being late, ya know?”</p><p>That same chill that Tsukishima felt race up his spine when he saw Lev at dinner last night comes back, relentless icy claws making his skin break out in goosebumps despite the layer of sweat clinging to his skin.</p><p>That’s right. Ushijima Wakatoshi had been on the same quest with Yaku, hadn’t he? He was one of the missing campers.</p><p>Like with Yaku and Lev, Tsukishima didn’t know much about the nature of Tendou’s relationship with Ushijima, but he did know that it had been literal years since he’d seen Tendou without some wildflower or another tucked behind his ear or threaded into his hair. It was only now that Tsukishima realized the jarring absence of any flowers on Tendou’s person.</p><p>A literal physical representation of losing a part of himself.</p><p>“Yeah, Tendou,” he says quietly. “If I see him, I promise I’ll let him know.”</p><p>“Thanks.” Tendou’s smile looks pained, cracking at the edges. Tsukishima hates seeing it on his usually so cheerful face. The son of Ares suddenly tightens his grip on Tsukishima’s shoulder to the point of almost being painful. “I need you to make me one more promise. Don’t try to be a hero out there, okay?”</p><p>“What?” Tsukishima frowns. “Why?” Children of Ares were usually all in favor of stupid and reckless heroics in battle. But right now, Tendou looks like he couldn’t imagine anything worse.</p><p>“Just - Just come back. Don’t be a hero.”</p><p>He says the two things as if they’re mutually exclusive: Coming home or being a hero.</p><p>Historically speaking, Tsukishima would have to agree with him. Greek heroes didn’t exactly have the best track record.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Alright,” Sugawara says in a hushed whisper, crouched down just outside the cabin door with black warpaint smeared under his eyes. “The border of camp is a lot further away than the Hades cabin, so when you hear the signal, you run like hell, got it?”</p><p>After all the nightmares Kuroo suffered from his first summer at Camp Half Blood, they have a sort of system for sneaking Tsukishima out of the cabin after curfew. It’s practically routine at this point, but Tsukishima still feels his heart pumping thunderously in his chest, backpack strap clutched tightly in one hand and Sugawara’s Invisibility Cap in the other.</p><p>“Yeah, yeah, I got it. What’s the signal?”</p><p>“You’ll know it when you see it,” Sugawara grins dangerously, and Tsukishima shares a wary look with Akaashi. “Luckily, I’ll be able to buy you a little extra time tonight. I called in some backup.”</p><p>“Backup?” Tsukishima repeats, looking at Akaashi in confusion. His brother just shrugs, looking equally lost.</p><p>His question is answered in the form of a very obviously fake bird call coming from somewhere among the trees. Tsukishima squints into the darkness in the direction of the sound. </p><p>“Is that - Is that Tanaka and Nishinoya?”</p><p>Sure enough, as his eyes adjust he can clearly make out the silhouette of Nishinoya’s spiky hair and short figure crouched on a low tree branch, and Tanaka’s buzzed head peeking out from behind a tree trunk. They’re both dressed in all black with warpaint to match Sugawara’s, though it looks like Tanaka also has a black handprint right on the top of his head, though it’s impossible to tell if he had put it there on purpose, or if Nishinoya had smacked it on as a joke.</p><p>“Seemed like the obvious choice to me.” Sugawara shrugs. “Name two people more distracting than those two.”</p><p>“I… Literally can’t.”</p><p>There’s another ridiculous sounding bird call, and suddenly Tanaka and Nishinoya both disappear from sight, bleeding into the darkness between the trees. No matter how hard Tsukishima looks, he can’t see them at all anymore. He’s reluctant to admit to himself that it’s pretty impressive.</p><p>“That’s my cue!” Sugawara pops up and throws his arms around Tsukishima in a tight embrace. Tsukishima is nearly a head taller than his older brother now, but he still feels small and young when Sugawara hugs him like this, like he can protect Tsukishima from the world. “Be safe, Kei,” he whispers.</p><p>“I will.” Tsukishima hangs onto him tighter than he has in years. “Love you,” he mumbles into Sugawara’s shoulder.</p><p>“Love you more.” Sugawara pulls back with a wink, and then darts off into the night. Tsukishima has to remind himself over and over again as he watches him go that this isn’t the last time he’ll see his brother, even though it kind of feels like it is.</p><p>Akaashi waits with him in baited silence, eyes and ears straining into the darkness for a signal.</p><p>“Kei,” Akaashi whispers, breaking the quiet. He looks uncharacteristically nervous and unsure in the faint light. Tsukishima knows it’s killing him to have to stay behind right now. “Take care of yourself, and take care of them, too. They need you more than I think they realize, otherwise they never would have left like that. Especially Kuroo.”</p><p>“Those two idiots aren’t dying on my watch,” he promises. Akaashi breaks into a small grin.</p><p>“Kei, before you go -"</p><p>
  <i>BOOM</i>
</p><p>Whatever Akaashi was about to say next is drowned out by a cracking sound like a clap of thunder far above their heads, followed by a blinding shower of colorful lights. A fireworks display, lighting up the night. As more and more campers are roused from their sleep, cabin doors are swung open and kids crowd the area, looking up at the show of reds and blues and golds in awe. The Harpies circle frantically overhead, but the sounds and the lights are too distracting, and they don’t seem to know where to start with what looks like every kid in camp now out of their cabins past curfew.</p><p>“I think that might have been the signal,” Tsukishima says dazedly, watching the fireworks dance across the midnight black sky.</p><p>“Yeah,” Akaashi grins, colorful lights flashing across his face. Tsukishima grabs for his hand, for some sort of desperate anchor to hold onto, wanting nothing more than to stay right here with him. But he needs to go. He knows it and so does Akaashi. “Just… Don’t forget to think with something other than your head sometimes, alright?”</p><p>It doesn’t sound like something Akaashi would normally say. It sounds more like the advice of someone like Yamaguchi, or Oikawa. Tsukishima doesn’t know what to make of it.</p><p>“What is that supposed to mean?”</p><p>“You’ll figure it out. Go now,” his brother murmurs, tugging Tsukishima down with two hands on his cheeks and pressing a firm kiss to the top of his head.</p><p>So, with Akaashi’s map in his back pocket, Sugawara’s Invisibility Cap pulled snugly over his blonde curls, and the spear designed by Oikawa, crafted by Iwaizumi, and taught to him by Tendou secure in his backpack, Tsukishima goes.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Were it not for the fact that Sugawara would lock him in the Athena cabin for the rest of his life if he ever got arrested, Tsukishima would not hesitate to turn the entire New York Public Transportation system to dust.</p><p>Tsukishima has never felt so cramped and miserable in his life.</p><p>Not only is he exhausted from being too nervous to get any sleep earlier that day, but he’s also on edge. Being in a confined space for so long is never a good feeling for a demigod. Every passenger who even sneezed in his direction had Tsukishima instinctively reaching for Philia, tucked away safely in his bag. Any one of them could be a monster hiding in plain sight. Tsukishima has heard crazy stories before, about monsters disguising themselves as people’s math teachers or their dentist. He needs to stay on his toes.</p><p>Around six in the morning, the map finally shimmers and the image fades in and out until it’s zoomed in so close to the lightning bolt, Tsukishima can pinpoint the exact city it’s located in. He jumps off the bus at the Saratoga Springs stop and goes the rest of the way on foot.</p><p>As he gets closer and closer to Bokuto’s location, he notices that there are a surprising amount of people out and about considering how early it is, and most of them appear to be not much older than him. Some of them are in flannel pajama bottoms, while others are in short dresses with heels in their hands, and all of them look like severely dehydrated and sleep-deprived zombies. Tsukishima is confused, curious if maybe some strange plague has affected this town, until he spots a sign on one of the buildings.</p><p>
  <b>‘SKIDMORE COLLEGE’</b>
</p><p>“Great,” Tsukishima grumbles, as a guy wearing nothing but boxers and an American flag tied around his shoulders like a cape topples over into the bushes lining the sidewalk next to him. He carefully edges his way around the kid. “Just what this day needed. Hungover college kids.”</p><p>The map leads him a little ways off campus, where the uniform brownstone buildings give way to a more suburban layout. A little neighborhood with big, white houses lining the streets. He’s close now, maybe only a hundred feet or so away, so Tsukishima pockets the map again and keeps his eyes on his surroundings, looking for any sign of his friends. They shouldn’t be too hard to find, he just needs to look for an obvious path of destruction to follow.</p><p>There are random letters on the fronts of each of the houses, he notices as he looks around, but they don’t spell anything, so he doesn’t pay them much mind. </p><p>In hindsight, Tsukishima really should have caught on sooner. </p><p>He’s a son of Athena, he should be able to make simple connections like this. It shouldn’t have taken a shirtless guy with a beer gut and a red solo cup in his hand sleeping on one of the houses front porches for Tsukishima to put all the pieces together.</p><p>The letters on top of the houses - they weren’t from the English alphabet. Tsukishima’s brain was just hardwired to translate them in his head.</p><p>They’re Greek letters.</p><p>“No,” Tsukishima says in horror. A few people passing by give him strange looks, probably because he’s stopped dead in his tracks in the middle of the sidewalk. “No, no, no, please gods, no.”</p><p>“Woah, you alright there, man?”</p><p>Tsukishima pivots sharply, dislodging the hand on his shoulder, ready to give the beer-breathed frat boy behind him a piece of his mind, but the words shrivel up and die in his throat, coming out as something closet to a squeak when he sees the person - the <i>creature</i> - standing there.</p><p>He looks a little too old to be your typical college student, like maybe he’d been held back a few years, with long brown hair and a matching beard, braids scattered randomly throughout it, and a bright red t-shirt with the sleeves cut off, the words <b>Party Ponies</b> proudly emblazoned across the chest.</p><p>A fitting name, considering the fact that he has the bottom half of a horse.</p><p>“You’re - yuh - you’re a - a -" Tsukishima stammers. </p><p>He knows he sounds like an absolute imbecile, but can he really be blamed? He’s never seen a centaur other than Chiron before, and certainly hasn’t seen one just prancing around in the <i>mortal world</i> with their four hooves so clearly on display like that. Looking at the centaur now, though, Tsukishima can recall scattered mentions that Chiron has made in the past about his unruly distant relatives. They gave ‘party animals’ a whole new meaning.</p><p>“Huh?” The centaur cocks his head to the side and Tsukishima wordlessly points to his lower half. It’s probably a bit rude, but the centaur just laughs heartily. “Oh man, you can see those? You must be a demigod! And sober!”</p><p>Tsukishima nods dumbly. “Yeah, I. Um. I’m sorry, but should you really just be walking around like that?”</p><p>The centaur laughs again, holding his stomach and throwing his head back. “Ah, don’t worry about it little guy! With the combined powers of the Mist and all the alcohol in these kids’ systems, they never notice a thing!” </p><p>As if to prove his point, the next person who walks by claps the centaur on his shoulder and gives him a fist bump, maneuvering around his hind legs as if on autopilot, not even giving them a second glance. </p><p>“See?”</p><p>“Wow. College kids are even dumber than I thought.” Tsukishima hopes his friends don’t get stupid (even stupider than they already are, in some cases) when they go off to college.</p><p>“College kids,” the centaur says sagely. “Are the best. Hey, you’re probably looking for those other demigod dudes, aren’t you?”</p><p>Tsukishima’s heart jumps excitedly - nervously? “Those would be my friends, unfortunately. Do you know where they are?”</p><p>“Do I ever!” The centaur points to the house right next to them, decorated with a crooked <b>PP</b> sign over it. “Found your friends wandering around like some lost puppies last night, so we told them they could crash with us! We could smell the demigod on them from a mile away. They must be pretty strong, those two.”</p><p>“They’re children of the Big Three, actually,” Tsukishima says, and the centaur whistles, impressed. Then, he swallows hard, looking up at the toilet paper-decorated building. “So they’re…in there?”</p><p>“Nah,” the centaur chuckles at the disgusted expression on his face. “They said they didn’t want to impose, and insisted on sleeping out in the yard. They’re just around the side of the house.”</p><p>“Oh thank Gods,” Tsukishima exhales. He’s not sure if his stomach would survive a trip into the Party Pony lair. “Thank you for -"</p><p>“Bro, look at this perfectly good pizza somebody threw away! Looks like breakfast to me.” A very familiar voice comes from around the side of the house.</p><p><i>Of course,</i> Tsukishima groans under his breath and the centaur gives him an amused salute goodbye.</p><p>“Don’t you dare!” Tsukishima shouts as he rounds the corner of the house, before he can even see the people there.</p><p>“Woah… Did you just hear that?” The same voice says. “It kinda sounded like -"</p><p>“Tsukki!” Kuroo’s eyes blow wide with shock as Tsukishima steps into view. </p><p>It’s barely been twenty-four hours since they’ve seen each other, but seeing him makes Tsukishima realize just how painfully his heart had missed Kuroo. <i>A part of him.</i></p><p>How is it possible to want to be so close to someone who looks like they just spent the night rolling around in a bed of dirt? Kuroo’s hair is a disaster - what else is new? - and Bokuto doesn’t look much better off, but they both look surprisingly well-rested with big grins on their faces.</p><p>“Tsukki!” Bokuto echoes. “You’re just in time for pizza!” He shakes the half-empty pizza box in his hands triumphantly.</p><p>“Drop it,” Tsukishima commands. Bokuto pouts, but obeys, the cardboard box falling at his feet. “What the hell are you guys doing here?”</p><p>Bokuto jumps up excitedly. “These cool centaurs let us crash in their yard for the night! They even let us borrow some of their pillows. We just told them that we were Greek, and they basically treated us like family!”</p><p>“I think the better question is,” Kuroo interjects, rising to his feet as well, brushing dirt off the seat of his pants and raising an inquisitive eyebrow. “What the hell are <i>you</i> doing here?” He doesn’t sound accusatory, though. He sounds absolutely delighted. </p><p>Tsukishima feels a flush creep up the back of his neck, crossing his arms and turning his nose away. “The camp rules clearly state that quests are to be made up of three campers.”</p><p>“Oh yeah?” Kuroo smirks. “If you’re so worried about following camp rules, why do ya got Suga’s Invisibility Cap sticking out of your back pocket, hm?”</p><p>Tsukishima’s hand instinctively flies up to cover it, but Kuroo’s shit-eating grin makes it obvious that he’s been caught.</p><p>“I - don’t?” He tries anyways.</p><p>“The Athena cabin has an Invisibility Cap? What the heck, that’s so cool!” Bokuto says, but Tsukishima can barely hear him, senses completely narrowed in on the sight of Kuroo walking towards him, muscles shifting beneath his ripped black jeans like a big cat stalking their prey.</p><p>“You snuck out of camp to come here, didn’t you? You came,” Kuroo says, laughing in disbelief. In awe. Like Tsukishima showing up here was the answer to all of his questions. “You really came, you -" He suddenly stops, freezing a few feet away from Tsukishima, eyes suddenly going wide, faltering a step back. “You can’t be here.”</p><p>Tsukishima feels like he just got smacked in the nose with the hilt of a sword. “Come again?”</p><p>“You have to go back.” Kuroo takes another step away from him like Tsukishima is a nuclear bomb about to detonate, shaking his head frantically. He looks…afraid? “Tsukki, you can’t - I’m sorry. You need to leave right now.”</p><p>Something cracks open in the cavity of Tsukishima’s chest, dripping sticky and acidic all over his heart, making his eyes sting. Oh, right, that’s the word for it. <i>Rejection.</i></p><p>“Are you kidding me right now?” Tsukishima hisses, surprised at the vitriol in his own voice. Bokuto takes a few very big steps backwards, eyes darting nervously between Tsukishima and Kuroo. “Do you have any idea what I went through to get here? What me and a whole bunch of other people risked because you got your stupid feelings hurt and ran off like a reckless idiot? And now you’re - you don’t want me here?”</p><p>Kuroo winces. “It’s not like that, I swear! It’s not that I don’t want you here, you just <i>can’t</i> be. Please,” his words take on a desperate tone. “Please, just trust me -"</p><p>“I do trust you!” Tsukishima explodes. “I trust you more than anyone else in the world! That’s why I came here in the first place!”</p><p>“Then keep trusting me now and just go! Please!” Kuroo shouts. </p><p>Kuroo never shouts at Tsukishima.</p><p>“You said - You said you wanted me here.” Tsukishima’s voice breaks and Kuroo’s expression shatters. “You said we were gonna defy the Fates together, you asshole! Or was that just all talk?”</p><p>“We can’t defy the Fates together if we’re both dead!”</p><p>Tsukishima’s stomach drops to the floor. </p><p>“What does that mean?” Kuroo looks away, avoiding his eyes. Tsukishima takes a shaky step closer. “Kuroo, what the hell is that supposed to mean?”</p><p>“It’s the prophecy,” Bokuto says quietly, coming between them with his hands held in the air peacefully. It’s only then that Tsukishima notices his own hands are balled into tight fists. He wasn’t going to hit Kuroo, he doesn’t think. “The Oracle said that…” Bokuto trails off, biting his lip uncertainly.</p><p>“Said that what?” Tsukishima barely dares to ask. Kuroo finally looks up and meets his eyes again, mouth set in a grim line.</p><p>“We’re going to meet death.”</p><p>And then, a window above opens and a Party Pony pukes right in front of them.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Tsukishima remembers his father bringing him to the local public library when he was a kid. Very vaguely, but he does remember it. Spending his Saturdays flipping through countless picture books while his dad collected more and more research books until they had a stack of books that looked close to toppling over on the table between them, so tall, Tsukishima could only see the very tips of his father’s wiry blonde hair over the top of it.</p><p>That library didn’t hold a candle to the Skidmore College library. A <i>college library.</i> Tsukishima felt like he was on Olympus. The stacks of books ran vast and deep, and as his eyes skimmed the spines of each and every one of them, he could see that they covered every conceivable topic anyone could ever want to learn about.</p><p>He wishes he had more time, wishes he had hours and days to peruse the selection but, well, this was kind of a matter of life or death.</p><p>Kuroo borrowed a piece of paper and a pencil from a table of giggling college girls behind them and wrote the prophecy down for Tsukishima to finally read for himself.</p><p>He can admit, it’s not the most optimistic prophecy he’s ever heard.</p><p> </p><p>
  <i>You shall chase the season, and recover what was lost,</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Keep your eyes on your back, or pay the cost,</i>
</p><p>
  <i>Call on the brightest of gods, but don’t hold your breath,</i>
</p><p>
  <i>If you follow your heart, you’ll be sure to meet death.</i>
</p><p> </p><p>“This is why you didn’t wait for me,” Tsukishima realizes, staring down at the ominous scrap of paper sitting on the table between the three of them. “You didn’t want me to say ‘yes’ anymore.”</p><p>“I never would have invited you if I knew it meant you might get hurt,” Kuroo says quietly. It’s so soft and sincere, Tsukishima can barley find it in himself to be upset anymore.</p><p>“You could have at least told me and given me the chance to decide for myself.” Tsukishima crosses his arms with a huff.</p><p>“You didn’t even want to come in the first place!”</p><p>“I never said that, I just said I needed more time to think about it!”</p><p>“And I was going to wait for you.” Kuroo sighs, deflating a little. “I was going to wait, Tsukki, of course I was. But once I heard the prophecy, I just - I panicked. I didn’t want you anywhere near it. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you.” His eyes beg Tsukishima to understand.</p><p>The horrible part is that he does. If he were in Kuroo’s position, he probably would have done the same thing. Would have put his own life at risk if it meant keeping Kuroo safe, keeping him as far away from harm as possible.</p><p>But Tsukishima isn’t in Kuroo’s position. He’s in his, and he knows what he has to do.</p><p>“I’m not leaving.” </p><p>“Tsukki…” Kuroo groans and drops his head to the desk with a dull <i>thunk.</i></p><p>“No,” Tsukishima says. “You were right. I did say that I was always going to be there for you, and I will be. Zeus himself couldn’t stop me if he wanted to.”</p><p>There’s a distant rumbling of ominous thunder that makes the library windows shake in their frames. Kuroo picks up his head from the desk and looks around in alarm. Bokuto doesn’t seem the least bit affected.</p><p>“Okay, maybe Zeus could,” Tsukishima amends quickly.</p><p>Kuroo frowns, eyebrows drawn together. “I still don’t like this.”</p><p>“Well, I don’t like that you left without me in the first place.” Tsukishima arches a pointed eyebrow. “Besides, now that I know what the prophecy says, if I go now and you two half-wits end up getting yourselves killed, that’s gonna be blood on my hands. We’ll have a better chance if we’re all together.”</p><p>“Or all three of us will just end up dead,” Kuroo points out dully.</p><p>It’s kind of heartbreaking, the defeated look on his face. Like he’s already accepted their fate.</p><p>Well, Tsukishima simply isn’t going to stand for that.</p><p>“Why are you so convinced we’re going to die, huh? Because some stupid prophecy said so?” Tsukishima slams his hands on the table in front of him, making the other two jump, and leans over it until he’s right in Kuroo’s space. Dazzling golden eyes stare back into his, wide with shock. “Defy the Fates, that’s what you told me we would do. So pick your sorry ass up and let’s do it already.”</p><p>Kuroo’s mouth parts in surprise, and Tsukishima is taken aback at his own words. They sound a lot braver, a lot more confident the he feels. But Kuroo was right the first time he said it - there is something indestructible about them together. Not something he can see, but something he can feel. When he looks into Kuroo’s eyes, it’s something he’s felt since the first moment they met.</p><p>
  <i>Invincible.</i>
</p><p>“You’re sure?” Kuroo whispers.</p><p>“I’m not afraid if you’re not.”</p><p>He’s surprised by how true the words are when he says them out loud.</p><p>Kuroo searches his eyes for a moment, and Tsukishima refuses to let any fear show. Slowly, his lips curl into a familiar grin.</p><p>“What could I possibly have to be afraid of if you’re with me, hm?” Kuroo tilts his head to the side, looking up at Tsukishima with a powerful combination of softness and fierceness, and Tsukishima finds that he really isn’t afraid. Not anymore.</p><p>Bokuto clears his throat loudly, and Tsukishima jerks backwards, out of Kuroo’s personal space. The son of Zeus gives them both pointed looks, arms crossed over his broad chest.</p><p>“Aren’t you two forgetting someone?”</p><p>Kuroo laughs, lunging at Bokuto and catching him easily in a headlock. “I already know <i>you’re</i> not afraid. I told you exactly what the prophecy said, and you still agreed to come with me, you crazy bastard.”</p><p>“You did?” Tsukishima asks, but Bokuto is too busy struggling in Kuroo’s hold to answer him. </p><p>The old librarian behind the desk clears her throat loudly, and the two boys immediately freeze with their arms wrapped around each other’s necks. The table of girls behind them break into more high-pitched giggles, peeking over at them from behind books that they probably haven’t read a word of.</p><p>“I think that’s our cue to go,” Kuroo announces, releasing Bokuto and smoothing the wrinkles out of his shirt.</p><p>“Where are we going?” Tsukishima asks, carefully placing the scrap of prophecy paper into his backpack. Kuroo grins at him dashingly, the promise of adventure etched into the crinkles by his eyes, and Tsukishima knows he would follow him anywhere.</p><p>“We’ll figure it out along the way, won’t we?”</p><p>Tsukishima pointedly ignores the way the table of girls fawn all over Kuroo when he walks over to return their pencil. He’s not <i>jealous.</i> He’s not. Kuroo is gay, and Tsukishima knows that, but it doesn’t stop him from wanting to pull Philia out of his bag and lop off a few fingers when one of the girls lays her hand on Kuroo’s forearm.</p><p>Instead, he focuses his attention on the boy in front of him. Bokuto had been strangely quiet during their entire conversation, staring down at the table in front of him like he could set in on fire with his eyes. Which, actually, he probably could, so it’s a miracle he hasn’t yet.</p><p>Tsukishima has a feeling he knows what’s on his mind. (Pretty much the only thing that ever is.)</p><p>“So what lie did you guys tell Akaashi?” He brings up as casually as he can.</p><p>“Huh?” Bokuto scrunches his nose.</p><p>“You obviously didn’t tell him what the real prophecy was, or he never would have helped me sneak out to join you guys.” Tsukishima sits back and observes Bokuto curiously. “So what did you tell him?”</p><p>“Oh, that.” Bokuto scratches the back of his head sheepishly. “We didn’t lie to him because we wanted to, ya know? I hate lying to Akaashi! But we didn’t want him to worry, and I - I mean, <i>we</i> didn’t want him to pull the same crazy stunt you did and try to follow us. So we told him the last line was, uh, <i>If you follow your heart, you’ll be sure to do what’s best.”</i></p><p>Tsukishima purses his lips. “But ‘breath’ and ‘best’ don’t rhyme? They just have assonance?”</p><p>Bokuto laughs. “Yeah, that’s exactly what Akaashi said. Something about repeating vowel sounds, right? But there was no way for him to prove that we were lying. It’s not like he could storm up to the Big House attic and ask the Oracle to repeat the prophecy. They only come once.”</p><p>Akaashi must have known that they were lying. He’s smarter than the three of them combined, there’s no way he fell for such a stupid trick. He’s going to school to study linguists, he knows the different between words that have assonance and words that actually <i>rhyme,</i> for gods’ sake.</p><p>He knew something was up, and he helped Tsukishima sneak out anyways. Because he trusted Tsukishima to keep them all safe, the same way Tsukishima trusted Kuroo.</p><p>“Why are you here?” Tsukishima asks bluntly. Bokuto’s eyebrows raise in surprise, so he elaborates. “If you knew this quest was going to be so dangerous, why did you still agree to come?”</p><p>“Seems crazy right?” Bokuto laughs helplessly, scratching his head. “To agree to go on what might be a suicide mission.”</p><p>“A little,” Tsukishima admits, even though he’s here voluntarily doing the exact same thing.</p><p>“Other than the fact that Kuroo is one of my best bros? It’s because…” Bokuto takes a deep breath, setting his shoulders squarely. “Because I have something to prove. To myself, and to someone special to me.”</p><p>Tsukishima doesn't need to hear Bokuto say his name to know that he’s talking about Akaashi. It’s right there, plain as day, in the fiery devotion in his eyes.</p><p>Maybe it isn’t in the same way as Kuroo, but Bokuto has always been pretty heroic in his own right. Whereas Kuroo had seen the darker sides of the world and wanted to do everything he possibly could to make it a brighter place, Bokuto had much simpler, though no less lion-hearted, intentions.</p><p>He just wants to make people happy.</p><p><i>You don’t have anything to prove,</i> Tsukishima wants to tell the other boy, his heart bursting with pride and affection, but he never gets the chance.</p><p>“Hey, guys!” Kuroo suddenly bounds back over from the the table of girls, a triumphant grin on his face. “I know where we need to go next.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Are you sure this is the right place?” Tsukishima asks for the third time.</p><p>“Positive,” Kuroo insists. “Those girls said that there was a huge black bear sighting in the park earlier today, and I’m willing to bet good money that the Mist makes a giant, three-headed dog look like something very close to a black bear to mortals.”</p><p>Tsukishima doesn’t disagree with Kuroo’s logic, but there’s no denying the fact that there’s no giant black bear terrorizing the Saratoga Springs National Park as they stand in it now. The park is different from anything Tsukishima has ever seen before, laid out with plenty of grassy areas, but scattered with a bunch of different cultural buildings - museums and performing arts halls, and a huge grecian looking building with a big, square bath in front of it. </p><p>Other than that, however, there doesn't seem to be anything strange going on.</p><p>“We must have missed him,” Bokuto says dejectedly, kicking a rock into the large pool of water in front of them. It hits the water with a pathetic <i>plop</i> and slowly sinks.</p><p>“Shoot,” Kuroo grumbles, agitatedly running his fingers through his hair, making it stand on ends. “Our only lead, and we screwed it up.”</p><p>“At least one good thing came of this,” Tsukishima says. “We know what Cerberus appears to mortals as now. As long as we keep an eye out for any more unusual bear sightings, we’ll know where to go next.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Kuroo perks up a little. “I guess you’re right.”</p><p>“I’m insulted that you’d ever assume otherwise,” Tsukishima sniffs.</p><p>“You guys!” Bokuto calls. He’s kneeling by the edge of the water, both hands splashing in it happily. “Come feel this, the water is so warm!” He cups some of it in his hands and washes the grime from his face.</p><p>“It’s a mineral spring,” Tsukishima explains, sitting by the bath with one finger swirling around in the water as Kuroo cleans off his own face. “Naturally heated water from the Earth’s core being pressurized to the surf - Ack!”</p><p>Tsukishima’s hands scramble for purchase on the ledge of the bath as something roughly bumps into him from behind, nearly knocking him over the edge. He might have fallen in completely, too, if it wasn’t for a hand in the back of his shirt grabbing tight and holding him in place.</p><p>“Woah, sorry about that!” A young man’s voice comes in a sudden rush. The hand on his back releases his shirt and smooths out the material with light touches. “I am so sorry, are you okay?”</p><p>Bokuto’s eyes are widened, looking just over his shoulder, and Kuroo’s face is shuttered off, narrowed and suspicious. A sudden, violent chill races down Tsukishima’s spine and he slowly turns, expecting to find some terrible and dangerous monster waiting behind him.</p><p>But it’s… It’s just a boy.</p><p>Porcelain-pale with hair like inky strands of silk, a sharp, narrow jawline and electrifying blue eyes, wearing a leather jacket that’s probably way too warm for the New York summer heat. He’s beautiful, unnaturally so, but he’s just a boy.</p><p>“I’m fine,” Tsukishima finally manages to answer, trying to shake off the last of the coldness clinging to his skin. Must just be the shock from almost falling in.</p><p>“My mom’s always saying this thing is going to be the death of me,” the boy laughs, holding up his phone, evidently the reason he bumped into Tsukishima. “I really didn’t think it would be death by embarrassment at accidentally drowning a pretty boy,” he smiles and his blue eyes twinkle.</p><p>“Um.” Tsukishima says eloquently, because, <i>Um???</i> Is this extremely hot college guy seriously hitting on him right now?</p><p>He’s saved from having to say anything else by Kuroo jumping in with a curt, “If you had drowned our dear Tsukki here, it wouldn’t have been the embarrassment that killed you.” </p><p>There’s a sharp edge to his smile that Tsukishima doesn’t recognize.</p><p>Pretty electric blue eyes flicker curiously between Tsukishima and Kuroo, almost like he’s sizing them up. Tsukishima’s skin breaks out in goosebumps, a completely unwarranted feeling of dread clawing at his mind, but then the guy is laughing and holding up his hands innocently.</p><p>“Well, aren’t you a good friend,” he tells Kuroo, putting extra emphasis on the word <i>’friend’</i> with a strange glint in his eye. “Sorry, again,” he says to Tsukishima, with a final press of his fingertips against the small of Tsukishima’s back. He involuntarily shudders and backs closer to Kuroo, desperately searching out the familiar warmth and comfort of his body. Kuroo winds an arm protectively around his waist, and they watch as the boy disappears into the crowd of people.</p><p>“Well,” Bokuto says, breaking the tense silence. “That was weird.”</p><p>“You felt it, too?” Tsukishima asks, frowning. “There was something…off about that guy, wasn’t there?”</p><p>“You mean besides the fact that he was a handsy creep?” Kuroo grumbles under his breath. Tsukishima rolls his eyes.</p><p>“Oh please, he touched my <i>back.”</i></p><p>“Well - So what!” Kuroo argues, releasing Tsukishima’s waist to cross his arms over his chest defiantly. “It’s still your back, and he shouldn’t touch it without asking you first!”</p><p>Kuroo looks a little bit like he wants to pull his Stygian Iron sword out of its hilt and take the guy’s hand off at the wrist. Not unlike Tsukishima had wanted to do back at the library to those girls that - </p><p>Wait.</p><p>No way.</p><p>Was Kuroo <i>jealous?</i></p><p>That guy had been hot and all, sure, but he didn’t even hold a candle to Kuroo. Though in Tsukishima’s eyes, nobody ever really does. The most scientifically perfect looking person in the world could be standing right in front of Tsukishima, but he would only have eyes for Kuroo, and all of his quirks and stupid little imperfections that Tsukishima loves.</p><p>How could Kuroo ever possibly think that guy was better looking than him? What an absolute idiot.</p><p>A little smirk creeps unbidden to Tsukishima’s face, and Bokuto muffles his own laughter into his hands. Kuroo pointedly looks away, scowling into the distance. <i>Gods of Olympus, he really IS jealous!</i></p><p>Tsukishima does something foolish in that moment. Foolishly brave, maybe, since it’s a page right out of Kuroo’s own book, but foolish nonetheless.</p><p>“My hero,” he coos, and it’s supposed to sound teasing but he’s a little more breathless than he anticipated being. “So brave, defending my honor like that from the big, scary college boy.”</p><p>Snaking his own arm around one of Kuroo’s, Tsukishima tugs himself close to the son of Hades’ side and leans in to brush a kiss right on the apple of his cheek. It’s barely more than half a second, just the barest touch of their skin, but it makes Tsukishima’s entire body light up with pleasant tingles.</p><p>Kuroo blushes redder than a strawberry, and Bokuto is outright cracking up at this point.</p><p>“You’re making fun of me,” Kuroo accuses. Tsukishima shrugs and releases his hold on Kuroo’s bicep.</p><p>“Yeah, obviously.”</p><p>“Can we go find something to eat now?” Bokuto whines. “I think I saw a little touristy cafe near the entrance, and Tsukki made me skip breakfast!”</p><p>“I am not even going to waste my breath explaining to you all the ways that I saved your life by not letting you eat that disease-ridden pizza this morning.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Tsukishima hadn’t been homesick at all, up until that night.</p><p>He’s been away from Camp Half Blood overnight before, that one time he went with Yamaguchi to visit his family in Georgia for a long weekend and met his environmental activist father and his redheaded step-sister. He hadn’t missed camp too badly, but maybe it was because he had Yamaguchi with him, or maybe because he knew he would be back at camp in just a few days.</p><p>Or maybe because he actually had a bed to sleep in that time.</p><p>They spent all day in the library (after begging the librarian to let them back in, only on the condition that Tsukishima promised to keep Bokuto and Kuroo on their best behavior). They scoured the internet for hours, looking for any news stories about black bear sightings, refreshing the search pages at least every thirty seconds. They didn’t find a single thing.</p><p>Bokuto and Kuroo had wanted to go back and stay with the Party Ponies for another night, but Tsukishima said he’d rather eat sewage, so they compromised and snuck into the Saratoga national park, waiting until all the rangers were gone for the night, and set up camp (which was nothing more than their three sleeping bags) under the stars.</p><p>Tsukishima agreed to take first watch, mostly because despite the exhaustion clinging to his bones, he was sure he wouldn’t be able to sleep.</p><p>He misses Camp Half Blood. He misses his home.</p><p>The hard ground underneath him as he pulls his knees to his chin is unforgiving, nothing like the well-worn mattress of his bunk in the Athena cabin. There are crickets chirping and lonely wolf calls in the distance, rather than Sugawara’s even breathing and Daishou’s soft snoring. When he looks up, it isn’t Akaashi’s peacefully sleeping face above him, but the vast, endless night sky.</p><p>A quiet rustling sound behind him makes Tsukishima tense up, but when he recognizes the heavy, combat boot-clad footsteps coming towards, him he relaxes.</p><p>He may be homesick, but he doesn’t wish he was anywhere but here.</p><p>“Couldn’t sleep?” He asks, glancing over at Kuroo out of the corner of his eye.</p><p>Kuroo shakes his head, settling next to Tsukishima and stretching his long legs out in front of him. </p><p>“Nah. Bokuto’s snoring too loud.”</p><p>The light from the moon casts shadows beneath their bodies, and Kuroo’s fingertips dance over them, stretching them into random shapes, twisting them together and pulling them back apart mindlessly. It’s soothing to watch, and the protection that the darkness of the night provides makes Tsukishima brave enough to ask a question that he’s terrified to know the answer to.</p><p>“Are you really unhappy that I’m here?”</p><p>Kuroo drops their shadows and leans back on his palms with a sigh. “I’m definitely not happy that you’re putting yourself in danger because of me,” he starts. “But… I was really gonna miss you.”</p><p>“You always miss me,” Tsukishima huffs fondly. “Even when it’s only been an hour since we saw each other.”</p><p>“I miss you every time I’m not with you,” Kuroo says earnestly.</p><p>Tsukishima hugs his knees tighter, heart fluttering in his chest. “That’s ridiculous.” </p><p>
  <i>Me, too.</i>
</p><p>The moonlight paints silvery streaks in Kuroo’s black hair when he looks at Tsukishima, and there’s something terrifyingly honest in his gaze when he suddenly asks, “Can I tell you something?”</p><p>Tsukishima feels his heartbeat speed up, mind immediately jumping to all of the worst conclusions. “What is it? Is everything okay?”</p><p>“Everything is fine,” Kuroo assures him quickly. “It’s just… Do you remember the first summer we met? How I told you that I met my dad in a dream, but I wouldn’t tell you what he said?” Tsukishima nods, confused. “I wanna tell you now, if that’s okay. It just…feels like the right time.”</p><p>
  <i>The right time.</i>
</p><p>Thanks to Yamaguchi, those three little words set of blaring red alarms and warning signs in his mind. He forces them to shut the hell up, because there’s no way that’s how Kuroo means it.</p><p>
  <i>There’s no way.</i>
</p><p>“If you want to, you can tell me.”</p><p>Kuroo lets out a relieved breath, turning his face to the stars. Tsukishima rests his cheek on his arms crossed on top of his knees and watches the way his dark eyes reflect the bright lights in the sky above. It’s moments like these when he knows without a shadow of a doubt in his mind that Kuroo is more than man. Kuroo Tetsurou is a force of nature himself.</p><p>“Hades told me that his children were cursed,” Kuroo says finally. “He said that they almost always have sad lives, and then they die tragic, lonesome deaths.” He smiles wryly. “Whole bunch of uplifting, fatherly stuff like that, but the bottom line was that I shouldn’t expect any kind of happy ending. He told me to just play it safe, and to never be a hero.”</p><p>Tsukishima draws in a sharp breath and he hurts, oh he <i>aches</i> for fourteen year old Kuroo who had just lost everyone he loved and had to hear those words from his own father.</p><p>“Those things could never happen happen to you,” Tsukishima swears, digging his fingers into his own elbow. “I’d never let them.”</p><p>Kuroo’s smile softens and he gently eases Tsukishima’s nails from his skin, leaving crescent shaped indents behind. “Yeah, it’s easier for me to believe that now, but at the time I was… Well, I was in a pretty dark headspace, if you remember. I agreed with every word he said. I promised myself I’d never be a hero.”</p><p>“That clearly didn’t stick,” Tsukishima says. Kuroo was so stupidly heroic, it hurt to look directly at him sometimes. “What changed your mind?” </p><p>When he asked the question, it was out of out genuine curiosity. He wasn't at all expecting Kuroo’s answer to change his life forever.</p><p>Kuroo looks right into Tsukishima’s eyes and his gaze doesn’t waver. </p><p>“I met the brightest, most beautiful boy I’d ever seen in my life, and he made me want to believe in in things like that again.”</p><p>Tsukishima draws in a sharp exhale, feeling his heart pounding, swelling to the size of a basketball and leaving no room in his chest for anything else. It’s almost painful, being the subject of such a fiercely adoring look, but Tsukishima selfishly, foolishly never wants Kuroo to look away from him.</p><p>
  <i>There’s no way, there’s no way, there’s no way.</i>
</p><p>“I took one look at him and I wanted to believe in heroes and happy endings, like I was still a carefree kid,” Kuroo continues, oblivious to Tsukishima’s entire world flipping on its axis. “Even if I was only a hero to that one boy, that’s all that mattered to me. I figured I owed him, since he was mine first.”</p><p>“He - He was?” Tsukishima manages to ask in a small voice, not sure if he can handle hearing the answer. He’s trembling now, from head to toe, and Kuroo takes one of his shaking hands in his own.</p><p>Bigger than Tsukishima’s hand. Broader. Tanner. Littered with scars. Holding Tsukishima’s heart right in the palm of it.</p><p>“Tsukki, that first night in the dining pavilion when you walked up to the Big Three table and offered me your hand, you saved my life. I was a complete stranger, but you shared your family with me when I lost mine, and you held my hand when I cried, and you made me laugh when I never thought I could again. You reminded me that there were still good things in this world, and you were the best thing of all.”</p><p>For someone who prides himself on being so smart, Tsukishima has really been a total idiot, hasn’t he? He’s always known just how much of an impact meeting Kuroo had on his life, but he never even considered that he had just as much of an impact on Kuroo’s.</p><p>That Kuroo might - That he could actually, possibly - That someone like <i>Kuroo</i> could ever love him like this.</p><p>He’s so beautiful and pure in this moment, baring his entire soul to Tsukishima, braver than Tsukishima could ever hope to be. Kuroo smiles and squeezes his hand, and Tsukishima wants so badly to be brave like him.</p><p><i>But what if it’s a mistake?</i> The traitorous part of Tsukishima’s brain the never shuts up whispers. What if they do something here that they can’t take back, and it ruins their friendship forever? What if they feel differently tomorrow? Or in a week from now? Or a year from now? And what about the quest? What if this thing becomes too much of a distraction and they fail and Kuroo never gets to see his mother and sister again and it’s all Tsukishima’s fault for being so weak in this moment? And - </p><p>And - </p><p>And Kuroo is looking at Tsukishima like he hung all the stars in the sky.</p><p>And Kuroo has been looking at him like that since they were kids.</p><p>And for the first time in his life, Tsukishima Kei stops thinking with his head.</p><p>“Kuroo,” he takes a deep breath so his voice won’t shake. “I like you.”</p><p>“Really?” Kuroo breathes.</p><p>“No.” If they’re possibly going to die on this quest, Tsukishima isn’t going to die with these things unsaid. “I love you.”</p><p>Tsukishima was expecting his heart to be erratically pounding, threatening to jump out of his throat with terror when he finally says it, but… But it’s Kuroo. Instead, all he feels is calm. Perfectly balanced. More himself than he has in many years.</p><p>Kuroo stares at him. And then he pinches himself. Pretty damn hard, based on the resulting shout.</p><p>“Ouch!”</p><p>Tsukishima startles, abruptly sitting up straight and watching Kuroo rub his abused arm in confusion and mild alarm. “What the hell did you do that for?”</p><p>“I’m just trying to make sure this is real life,” Kuroo starts to laugh, then gets a suspicious look on his face. “This is real life, isn’t it? I’m not dreaming? This isn’t Kenma just messing with me.”</p><p>“No! Why would Kenma - ?”</p><p>“Kenma!” Kuroo starts to stand, looking around like he’s expecting the son of Hypnos to drop out of the branches of a nearby tree. “Is this you?”</p><p>“Kuroo!” Tsukishima says exasperatedly, grabbing his wrist and pulling him back. “Sit down and be quiet, you’ll wake Bokuto.”</p><p>Slowly, Kuroo sits back down, still looking at Tsukishima like he might be a figment of his imagination.</p><p>“So… This is definitely real life?”</p><p>Tsukishima huffs a quiet laugh and scoots closer, placing one hand on Kuroo’s shoulder so that his thumb brushes the side of his neck.</p><p>“I can think of one way to check,” he whispers. Kuroo sucks in a breath and holds it there.</p><p>“Really?” He asks, eyes wide and still dancing with stars.</p><p>Tsukishima doesn’t bothering answering his question. He keeps his eyes open until the very last second, watching the way Kuroo’s lips part every so slightly, and the way his chest rapidly rises and falls.</p><p>He lets his eyes fall shut, and in the darkness behind his eyelids, there’s an explosion of light when Kuroo’s lips finally touch his.</p><p>Guiltily, Tsukishima has thought about what kissing Kuroo would be like before. He thought about what his sharp jawline would feel like underneath Tsukishima’s fingertips, and if his big hands would feel as hot as brands on his waist. If Kuroo would kiss rough and passionately, with biting teeth and a bruising grip on his chin, or if he would treat Tsukishima was he was delicate as a paper doll, with featherlight caresses of his cheeks.</p><p>None of it comes even close to the real thing.</p><p>It feels like what Tsukishima imagines being struck by one of Zeus’ lightning bolts feels like. A current of electricity coursing up his spine, making every nerve ending on his body tingle and burn, but in the most pleasant way. All the way to the core of his being, Tsukishima feels more alive than he’s ever felt before.</p><p>Kuroo inhales sharply through his nose, and Tsukishima thinks he must have felt it, too. Kuroo’s lips are a little chapped, not nearly as soft as Futakuchi’s had been, and he tastes a little bit like greasy diner food, and it’s perfect. It’s so, so perfect.</p><p>When Tsukishima starts to get a little bit dizzy from lightheadedness, he forces himself to pull away, but not too far. Just close enough that the tips of their noses bump.</p><p>“Did that feel real to you?” Tsukishima asks, more than a little breathless.</p><p>
  <i>Because it felt more real than anything in the world to me.</i>
</p><p>“I think so,” Kuroo says, slowly running his tongue alone his bottom lip, like he can still taste Tsukishima there. It makes a shiver race up his spine. Suddenly, Kuroo’s face breaks into a sly smirk. “But I might need to try it a few more times to be sure.”</p><p>This time, it’s Kuroo that pulls Tsukishima in, frenzied enough that they overbalance and Kuroo ends up falling on his back, with Tsukishima landing hard on his chest, glasses getting knocked askew. He tries to scowl, but it’s entirely ruined by the fact that he can’t stop smiling, especially when Kuroo reaches up and adjusts his glasses for him, letting his hands linger on Tsukishima’s face, fingers tucked behind his ears.</p><p>When Kuroo grabs Tsukishima by the face and holds him like this, like he’s the first flame that Prometheus gifted to the mortals, like he’s the only thing keeping him alive, and pulls him in to mold their lips together again, it sets Tsukishima’s heart on fire.</p><p>“Gods, Tsukki - <i>Kei,”</i> Kuroo breaks apart to breathe against his lips, and the sound of his gravelly voice saying Tsukishima’s given name makes him want to cry. “In case I didn’t make it perfectly clear with all of my rambling before, I love you, too.” Kuroo kisses him again. “I love you, I do. I’ve always loved you.”</p><p>The last of the words are barely out of his mouth before Tsukishima is ducking down and kissing hi. furiously again.</p><p>Everything. Everything everything <i>everything</i> in Tsukishima’s life has been entirely worth this single moment. He feels so happy, he thinks he might float away. Like he could fly - Like - like he has wings. Like he’s - </p><p>Icarus.</p><p>“Wait - Kuroo, wait.” Tsukishima pulls away, biting his lip.</p><p>“What’s wrong?” Kuroo sits up immediately, pulling Tsukishima with him and situating him in his lap. “Is something wrong? Did I hurt you?”</p><p>“No, nothing like that,” Tsukishima reassures him, foreheads pressed together and his fingers wound in Kuroo’s surprisingly soft hair. Kuroo has to go almost cross-eyed to meet his gaze, but Tsukishima can see the way his eyebrows are scrunched together. “It’s - I need to apologize. To you.”</p><p>“Um, I’m pretty sure you should be doing whatever the opposite of apologizing is right now.”</p><p>“I broke my promise to you.”</p><p>“Hm?” Kuroo rubs broad, comforting strokes up and down Tsukishima’s spine. “I don’t recall you ever promising not to give me the most mind-blowing kiss of all time,” he grins, kissing the corner of Tsukishima’s mouth teasingly.</p><p>“Gods, you don’t even remember it, do you?” Tsukishima huffs a humorless laugh. “It was when I stayed with you in the infirmary, that first night after you came back from Kita’s quest. You were practically asleep already, but you told me that you never wanted us to not be friends again, and I promised you I would always be your friend.”</p><p>“Why can’t we be -" Kuroo gestures vaguely between them, “- whatever this is, and still be friends?”</p><p>“Maybe for now we can, but there’s no way to know if we can keep it up forever. If we do -" Tsukishima copies his hand gesture, “- whatever this is, we’re putting our whole friendship at risk.” Tsukishima’s fingers thread even more tightly in Kuroo’s hair, belying his words, but he’s afraid to let go at this point.</p><p>Kuroo doesn’t answer right away, and Tsukishima is sure this is it. This is the moment that Kuroo realizes the same thing he did years ago, and regrets what they just did. A sob wells up in his chest, a dangerous bubble of pressure that makes it hard to breathe, and he has to squeeze his eyes shut to keep it all inside. No use making Kuroo feel worse about this than he already does. Tsukishima can hide the hurt. He’ll hide the hurt if it’ll make things easier on Kuroo.</p><p>At least they had this. This moment. It’s not too late to fix things, to go back to the way they were before, to forget this ever - </p><p>“That’s a risk I’m willing to take if you are.”</p><p>Tsukishima’s eyes fly open, a few errant tears escaping at the corners. The look of confidence and determination in Kuroo’s gaze is enough to put the breath back in Tsukishima’s lungs.</p><p>“What? I - But I <i>promised -"</i></p><p>Kuroo shrugs, like this is all the easiest and most simple thing on the planet. “It’s me and you, Tsukki.” He cups Tsukishima’s face and gently wipes away his tears with the pads of his thumbs. A playful smirk curves his lips. “Besides, you didn’t swear on the River Styx, did you? Rookie mistake.”</p><p>Tsukishima drops his head onto Kuroo’s shoulder, buries his face in his neck, and laughs. He laughs so hard, it wracks his entire body, and he might be crying a little bit, too, but Kuroo doesn’t say anything or try to stop him. Just holds him close and hums a Smiths’ song under his breath, and of course he somehow just knows it’s Tsukishima’s favorite one.</p><p>Because Kuroo knows him. And Kuroo <i>loves</i> him.</p><p>And maybe, just maybe, because it’s them, it really is that simple.</p><p>“Okay,” Tsukishima breathes, voice cracked and raw from crying and laughing. “Okay, Kuroo Tetsurou. Let’s break some promises.”</p><p>And this time when he looks at Kuroo, he can see it so clearly. That spot right in the center of his chest, that spot is Tsukishima’s.</p><p>But the little space right next to it, the one over his heart - that spot is Tsukishima’s, too.</p><p>(They never wake Bokuto up for his turn on watch that night.)</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Breakfast the next morning is…eventful, to say the least.</p><p>As a group, there are three major realizations that they come to:</p><p>The first is by Bokuto, when Kuroo asks Tsukishima to pass him the salt and pepper for his paper-wrapped egg and cheese sandwich from the same park cafe they had eaten at the day before.</p><p>When Tsukishima hands off the little black and white shakers to him, their fingers overlap for just a brief moment, but it’s enough to make him burn where they touch. Kuroo meets his eye, something soft and knowing and secretive passing between them. </p><p>And then, he blows the whole thing by saying, “Thanks, Kei.”</p><p>Bokuto’s orange juice comes spewing out of his nose.</p><p>“Wha - Huh? What?” He points an accusing finger back and forth between them wildly, wiping his chin with the back of his hand. “Did you just - Did you just call him <i>Kei?”</i></p><p>“Um. That’s his name?” Kuroo winces, shooting Tsukishima an apologetic grin.</p><p>“His name is ‘Tsukki’! And you -" Bokuto turns to Tsukishima. “You just let him! I’m not worried about having to report an attempted murder or anything! What in Hades is going on here?” He points his breakfast burrito accusingly between them.</p><p>“Alright, okay, calm down, we’ll tell you!” Tsukishima hisses, when a few of the other patrons start looking over at them. </p><p>The last thing they want to do is draw more attention to themselves. They’re already doing plenty of that already as they odd group they are, with Kuroo dressed in his oversized mess of black clothes, Bokuto in his favorite sleeveless gold workout top and gym shorts, and Tsukishima in his camp t-shirt and jeans. They all look totally prepared for three completely different events.</p><p>Tsukishima spares a glance at Kuroo out of the corner of his eye and inexplicably feels his palms start to sweat. He spent the entire night tangled up in the other boy’s arms, but for some reason, trying to put the situation into words is tying his stomach in knots.</p><p>They didn’t discuss this part. Tsukishima wasn’t even planning on saying anything to Bokuto yet,  at least not until they finished the quest. He didn’t know what Kuroo’s plan had been, but based on his flustered reaction, he hadn’t meant to reveal what was going on over breakfast this morning either.</p><p>“We’re, uh. That is, Kuroo and I are - um.” Tsukishima’s traitorous tongue won’t cooperate with him, and he has no idea what to say. Thankfully, Kuroo always seems to.</p><p>“We’re ruining our friendship,” he declares proudly. Bokuto’s eyebrows shoot up and Tsukishima palms himself in the forehead.</p><p>“You guys aren’t friends anymore?” Bokuto clarifies, still looking hopelessly confused.</p><p>“Nope,” Kuroo beams.</p><p>“Well this sucks!” Bokuto wails, burying his face in his hands.</p><p>“Nice going,” Tsukishima grumbles, elbowing Kuroo in the side. “And stop crying, Bokuto. What Kuroo <i>meant</i> to say is that we’re… Trying out some new things,” he finishes awkwardly. </p><p>Kuroo snorts an indelicate laugh and Bokuto peeks out at him from behind his fingers.</p><p>“Like… Kissing things?” He says hopefully.</p><p>“Hell yeah, buddy.” Kuroo grins, holding out his fist for Bokuto to bump. Tsukishima smacks it out of the air, rolling his eyes and fighting down a blush. </p><p>“Finally, oh thank Gods!” Bokuto falls back dramatically into his chair. “I don’t think I could handle the pining for even a second longer.”</p><p>“Really?” Tsukishima pouts. “Did everybody know about my crush on Kuroo?”</p><p>“You?” Bokuto’s ears nearly bug out of his head. “Are you kidding me, I was talking about <i>Kuroo!”</i></p><p>“Wait,” Kuroo holds his hands up to pause the conversation, then turns to Tsukishima with a shit-eating grin. “You had a crush on me?”</p><p>“Shut up, Death Boy,” Tsukishima crosses his arms and feels his cheeks flush. “You had a crush on me, too!”</p><p>“Sure did,” Kuroo winks and Bokuto gags. “I was gonna tell you about it, too,” he says conversationally, “but then you had to go and get yourself a boyfriend. Honestly, rude, Tsukki,” he tsks.</p><p>“Wait…” Tsukishima’s mind grinds to a sudden halt, flashing back to memories of sitting on the top of a hill with Kuroo. “Is <i>that</i> what you were going to tell me on the first day of summer that year I was dating Futakuchi?”</p><p>Kuroo shrugs and takes another bite of his breakfast sandwich.</p><p>“Okay,” Tsukishima presses his fingertips to his temples. “We really don’t have time to unpack all of this right now.”</p><p>So, that’s how Bokuto finds out that Kuroo and Tsukishima aren’t exactly “friends” anymore.</p><p>The second Breakfast Epiphany comes to them in the form of a perky blonde newscaster on the television hanging on the wall in the corner of the cafe.</p><p>Tsukishima and Bokuto are too distracted by folding up empty sugar packets into paper footballs and flicking them across the table at each other to notice, but suddenly Kuroo is sitting up straight in his seat, pointing excitedly at the TV.</p><p>“Did you guys hear that?”</p><p>“Hear what?” Tsukishima adjusts his glasses and squints so that he can read the red banner running across the bottom of the screen.</p><p>
  <b>Small Town in Panic After Huge Black Bear Sighting</b>
</p><p>“Do you think - ?”</p><p>“That’s gotta be him!” Bokuto shouts, jumping out of his seat.</p><p>“Are we really that lucky?” Tsukishima asks dubiously. Things are never that easy for a bunch of demigods. It doesn’t sit quite right with him.</p><p>“Do you really wanna sit around here and wait until it’s too late to find out?” Kuroo counters.</p><p>Tsukishima taps his fingers on the table thoughtfully. If, in the ideal case, this <i>is</i> another Cerberus spotting, the sooner they get there, the sooner they can catch the dog, send him home to Hades, and get back to camp with plenty of time to enjoy the rest of the summer together. Plenty of time for Tsukishima and Kuroo to enjoy their newfound <i>activities</i> together.</p><p>On the other hand, if this is some kind of trap and they all die, well. </p><p>They’ll be dead.</p><p>He hates making “what if” decisions like this, but Kuroo and Bokuto are both looking at him expectantly, like they’re deferring to him to decide.</p><p>The town, some place in Pennsylvania called Bedford isn’t too far away, and if Kuroo Shadow Travels them all, they can be there in literal moments. If that black bear spotting really is Cerberus, they have a good chance of catching him there. It’s the best lead they’ve gotten in days.</p><p>And if there is danger waiting for them? Well, Tsukishima is pretty confident in Kuroo and Bokuto’s fighting abilities.</p><p>“Alright, let’s pay and get moving, then. Kuroo, are you good to Shadow Travel?”</p><p>Raising his arms over his head and cracking his fingers, Kuroo gives him an overly-dramatic wink. Tsukishima is not proud of the way it (or what he says next) affects him.</p><p>“Born ready, baby!”</p><p>“No,” Tsukishima shoots him down immediately, tips of his ears burning.</p><p>“Aw, come on!” Kuroo whines. “Bo already knows anyways, let me give you a cute nickname!”</p><p>“Sorry, bro,” Bokuto shakes his head solemnly. “I’m with Tsukki on this one. I’m super happy you guys are together or whatever now, but if I have to hear you call him ‘baby’ one more time, I might lose my breakfast burrito all over you.”</p><p>Kuroo pouts and it’s unfairly cute how a six-foot-something eighteen year old boy in an XXL band t-shirt and combat boots can look with his lower lip jutted out like that.</p><p>“You’ll survive. Now just leave the money on the table and let’s go.” Tsukishima looks back and forth between them when he only gets blank stares in response. “Which one of you has the money?”</p><p>“So, funny story…” Bokuto starts, and Tsukishima already knows that he’s not going to be laughing. “I thought that I told Kuroo to pack the mortal money, but Kuroo thought he told me to pack it, so, well -" They both upend small money pouches onto the table and scatter little golden coins everywhere. “On the bright side, we have plenty of drachma!”</p><p>“Why do you think we were sleeping in an alley contemplating eating garbage pizza when you found us?” Kuroo asks sheepishly.</p><p>“And why we made you pay for dinner last night,” Bokuto adds.</p><p>“Oh, well that’s no problem.” Tsukishima smiles kindly at them. “I brought plenty of spare mortal cash with me. Hundreds of dollars, in fact.”</p><p>“Really?” Bokuto perks up.</p><p>“No!” Tsukishima snaps. He pinches the bridge of his nose and exhales long, and slow. “I only brought enough for the bus ride here, plus a little extra for a day’s worth of food. I figured you two would have been smart enough to get plenty from Chiron, which was obviously my first mistake.”</p><p>“Hey, don’t worry,” Kuroo says, placing a firm hand at the back of his neck and squeezing gently. Tsukishima feels some of the tension leaving his body, and is slightly terrified of this new power Kuroo seems to hold over him. “When my sister and I were on our own traveling to the Underworld, we ran out of cash pretty quickly, too. The only reason we didn’t starve is because we perfected the art of sneaking out the back door without anyone seeing us.”</p><p>“That’s awful, dude.” Bokuto grins, eyes lighting up with mischief.</p><p>Tsukishima surveys the other occupants of the cafe. There are three other tables of people; an elderly couple, some college kids studying, and a small family with two young kids. Only two waitresses, and a bald-headed guy with a beer gut behind the counter. There aren’t quite enough people for them to slip completely under the radar, but if they’re fast enough, it might not matter if they’re seen or not. Doesn’t look like any of them would be willing to give chase over a few breakfast sandwiches.</p><p>“I don’t think we have another choice,” Tsukishima admits. “Are you sure there even is a back door? This place is pretty small.”</p><p>“Sure I’m sure,” Kuroo grins confidently. “There’s always another way out, and nobody is ever watching the back door.”</p><p>And that’s when it hits him. The third realization.</p><p>Something about Kuroo’s words makes Tsukishima pause, all of the noises of the cafe around him dulling to nothing more than muted background sounds as his mind begins to work. It picks at millions of different threads of thought, stringing them together so that they make sense, painting a picture in his mind that only Tsukishima can see.</p><p>He lives for moments like these. Moments where he has no doubt in his mind that he is his mother’s son.</p><p>“That’s it,” he says suddenly. He doesn’t know how long he was lost in his own mind, but Bokuto and Kuroo are both looking at him with concerned faces. Tsukishima ignores them. “I know how Cerberus must have gotten loose. And I know who let him out.”</p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“The Underworld must have another entrance.”</p><p>Tsukishima explains his thought process to Kuroo and Bokuto as they search around the town center of Bedford, Pennsylvania for any sign of people running away screaming from a giant bear. Bedford is a quiet and small colonial-looking town, with tall red brick buildings lining the main street, with white roofs and wooden hand-painted signs in the windows. Tsukishima can imagine how the appearance of Cerberus would be big news in a place like this.</p><p>“What, like a back door?” Kuroo asks. He has one arm lazily slung over Tsukishima’s shoulders, and that’s something new that Tsukishima is getting used to. He and Futakuchi used to walk around Camp Half Blood holding hands or touching in some way, but that was at camp, surrounded by people they knew. He can’t help the way his heart stops beating for just a brief moment every time someone they pass on the street looks at them, but luckily everyone so far has just smiled politely and kept on walking.</p><p>Even if they didn’t, Tsukishima isn’t sure he’d be able to find it in himself to care, not when he’s allowed to enjoy being so casually close to Kuroo now that they’re… Whatever they are.</p><p>“Exactly,” Tsukishima nods. “Like a service entrance, of sorts. Think about it; if Cerberus had tried to walk right out the main entrance, someone definitely would have noticed and tried to stop him. Either Hades himself, or Charon, the boatman who takes souls across the River Styx. It’s impossible that a giant, three-headed dog could have just waltzed right out of the Underworld without anyone noticing. So he must have left another way.”</p><p>“The Underworld isn’t like a restaurant though,” Bokuto points out. “What would Hades need a back entrance for?”</p><p>“It’s not for Hades. It’s for the God of Death.”</p><p>Bokuto screws up his face, perplexed. “Wait, but isn’t Hades the God of Death?”</p><p>“No,” Kuroo shakes his head, looking at Tsukishima thoughtfully. “Hades is the God of the Underworld.”</p><p>“Hades is the ruler of all the souls who enter the Underworld, but it’s another god who actually brings them to him. Who reaps the souls from the mortal world and guides them to the Underworld.” Tsukishima pushes this glasses up his nose and waits for the group of kids walking past them to be out of earshot before saying his name. Names give the gods power. “Thanatos.” </p><p>“Thanatos?” Bokuto repeats. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that god?”</p><p>“He’s a minor god, mostly forgotten in modern retellings of Greek mythology. He’s the equivalent of what most mortals today would refer to as the Grim Reaper.”</p><p>“Oh.” Bokuto swallows hard. “Lovely.”</p><p>“He must have some sort of entrance to the Underworld that he specifically uses to deliver to the souls to Hades,” Tsukishima continues, on a roll now. “And it’s so routinely used that Hades probably never even spares it a second glance. It would be the perfect way to sneak Cerberus out of the Underworld.”</p><p>“But why would Thanatos want to set Cerberus loose in the mortal world?” Kuroo frowns, chin tilted to the sky. Tsukishima allows himself a moment to appreciate Kuroo’s razor-sharp jawline before sighing heavily.</p><p>“That’s the part I haven’t been able to figure out yet.”</p><p>“Hey,” Kuroo nudges him gently with his shoulder. “Don’t worry about it, alright? You will.” He smiles winningly. “You’ve already figured out way more than Bo and I would have by ourselves.”</p><p>“No kidding,” Tsukishima scoffs, but allows Kuroo a warm grin in return.</p><p>“Yeah, and anyways, remember what the prophecy said?” Bokuto jumps in enthusiastically. “The prophecy said that we’ll ‘recover what was lost’, so it’s only a matter of time before we find Cerberus now!”</p><p>“That’s about the only part of the prophecy that made any sense at all,” Tsukishima grumbles. Kuroo squeezes his shoulder comfortingly. He knows how much it drives Tsukishima crazy when he doesn’t understand something. “Can we go ask that sheriff about the bear sightings?” He sighs. “I’m tired of walking around.”</p><p>“I could carry you,” Kuroo suggests with a wink. Tsukishima elbows him in the ribs and walks ahead of his friends in order to hide his stupid blush.</p><p>There’s an older guy in a beige sheriff’s uniform with dark glasses and a stupid looking hat standing on the street corner. Usually, Tsukishima’s instinct as a teenager and as a demigod is to avoid law enforcement at all costs, but they’re working off of nothing right now, and Bedford is small, but not so small that Tsukishima wants to spend his day walking the whole thing.</p><p>Tsukishima keeps the conversation brief and polite, escaping before the sheriff can start asking questions about where they’re from and what they’re doing in Bedford. He finds Bokuto and Kuroo waiting for him on a bench in the middle of a small park in the center of the town.</p><p>“The Sheriff said the last sighting of the bear was hours ago, when it ran away into the woods.” Tsukishima approaches them. “Some officers went in looking for it, but it hasn’t been seen since. I think we were too late again.” He pauses. “Also, where in Hades did that cat come from?”</p><p>Tsukishima hadn’t noticed it at first, too caught up in his own disappointment at having missed Cerberus and thinking about what their next move should be. But there it is, a small orange tabby cat, perched happily at Kuroo’s feet with its tail wound around his ankles.</p><p>“He’s cute, right?” Bokuto laughs delightedly when the cat nuzzles into the palm of his hand.</p><p>“It’s a cat,” Tsukishima say, unimpressed.</p><p>“Man, I haven’t had a cat since I was a little kid.” Kuroo feels around the cat’s neck. “I don’t see any tags on this guy. I think he might be a stray. Maybe we could - ?”</p><p>“No. Absolutely not. We are not even having this conversation right now.” Tsukishima crosses his arms tightly across his chest and fixes them both with a stern look, pointedly ignoring Kuroo’s puppy-dog eyes. It’s a Herculean feat. “Have the two of you completely forgotten that we’re not here on vacation, we are on a <i>quest.”</i></p><p>“He could be helpful!” Bokuto insists, looking to Kuroo for backup. Kuroo sighs and gives the cat a final scratch under the chin before standing.</p><p>“Nah man, Tsukki’s right,” Kuroo says. Those might be Tsukishima’s favorite words to hear come out of his mouth, right after <i>‘I love you.’</i> “We have enough trouble keeping ourselves alive as it is.”</p><p>Bokuto gasps, betrayed. “I don’t like this thing going on between you two anymore if it means you’re always gonna take Tsukki’s side now!”</p><p>“It’s not taking sides,” Tsukishima rolls his eyes. “It’s common sense, and I just happen to always be right.”</p><p>“He has a point.” Kuroo shrugs. The cat butts its head against Kuroo’s shin and he grins down at the animal. “I still want to bring him to a shelter or something before we go, though. I feel bad just leaving him out on the street like this.”</p><p>Tsukishima considers arguing that they really don’t have time for this, but he knows a lost cause when he sees one. And asking Kuroo to turn his back on any living thing that needs his help - whether it be human or feline - was like asking him to sever off a part of himself.</p><p>Stupid heroes.</p><p>“Fine,” Tsukishima sighs, and Bokuto and Kuroo erupt into cheers. “But we are just dropping him off, nothing more!”</p><p>“Deal!” Kuroo plants a sudden kiss on his cheek, and Tsukishima only has a few moments to enjoy the tingling feeling his lips leave behind before Bokuto is leaving his own enthusiastic kiss on Tsukishima’s other cheek. “Okay little guy, let’s get you - Huh?” Kuroo starts to bend down and stops. “Where did he go?”</p><p>They all spin in a few quick circles, looking down at their feet, but where the tabby cat was sitting just moments ago is now empty.</p><p>“Oh well,” Tsukishima feigns disappointment, holding his hands up in a <i>What can you do?</i> gesture. “Guess he likes living on the streets. Come on, let’s just -"</p><p>“There!” Kuroo suddenly shouts, pointing across the street where the cat is now sitting, licking its paw demurely.</p><p>Tsukishima squints suspiciously. “How did it get over there so fast?”</p><p>His question goes unanswered as Kuroo and Bokuto take off running across the street. Tsukishima debates just waiting here on the bench and letting them take care of it themselves, but he promised Akaashi he would keep an eye on them, so he follows. Who knows what trouble those two could manage to get themselves into when he wasn’t looking?</p><p>Just as Kuroo and Bokuto are closing in on the cat, it darts off again, this time into a narrow alleyway between two buildings. Tsukishima silently prays that they’ll leave it alone at that, but of course, they don’t. They disappear into the alley after it.</p><p>Tsukishima doesn’t bother running, and by the time he makes it to the alley, he can see Kuroo and Bokuto’s backs standing stock-still at the other end. Not exiting the alleyway, just standing there.</p><p>“Why did you guys stop? Did you lose the damn thing again?” Tsukishima tries to peer past them as he approaches, but the alleyway is so narrow that the two of them standing side by side takes up the whole width of it. Not to mention, seeing over their hair is a lost cause.</p><p>“Uh, nope,” Kuroo responds in a weird voice. “Definitely didn’t lose him.”</p><p>Tsukishima is about to ask what he means by that, when he’s cut off by a roar so powerful, it shakes the walls around him.</p><p>A flood of adrenaline and heart-stopping fear floods Tsukishima’s system all at once, and he runs the rest of the way through the alley to stand alongside them. His jaw drops.</p><p>“What in Hades did you two <i>do?”</i></p><p>The alley opens up into a dusty gravel service lot behind the buildings, lined with a wired fence. And standing in the middle of the parking lot is a glittering gold lion approximately the size of a monster truck, incisors the length of Tsukishima’s entire body bared, and eyes red with bloodlust.</p><p>It snarls again and Tsukishima jumps, grabbing instinctively onto the back of Kuroo’s shirt. That seems to finally kick the son of Hades back into motion.</p><p>“It was the cat,” he explains, putting one arm out to keep Tsukishima behind him and reaching for his dark Stygian Iron sword with the other. “We followed him back here and he just - he <i>grew</i> into that thing right before our eyes.”</p><p>Bokuto reaches for his own weapons - dual Celestial Bronze daggers, each one about the length of his forearm. Tsukishima has never seen him use them seriously in battle before. Bokuto usually didn’t even use them during games of capture the flag, opting instead for the basic sword and shield that all the other campers used because he didn’t want to accidentally injure someone too badly. </p><p>Tsukishima would never admit it out loud, but he was more than a little afraid of what Bokuto was capable when he actually <i>did</i> want to hurt something.</p><p>He starts to reach into his own bag for Philia, but a hand on his wrist stops him. Kuroo’s eyes are stormy with fear, but Tsukishima knows that it isn’t for the lion.</p><p>“Kei,” Kuroo starts. Since the slip-up at breakfast, he’s mostly reverted back to calling Tsukishima by his nickname, saving his given name for more serious matters. Tsukishima would never tell him, but he kind of missed hearing the teasing lilt when he called him <i>Tsukki.</i> “I want you to stay here.”</p><p>Wait - </p><p>“What?”</p><p>“The alley is too small for him to fit in now that he’s that big, so you’ll be safe here,” Kuroo explains in a rush.</p><p>“You don’t think I can help you out there?” Tsukishima glares.</p><p>“No! No, that’s not it at all.” Kuroo takes Tsukishima gently by the shoulders. “I just - I won’t be able to think straight out there if I’m worrying about you, okay? I know, it’s selfish, but I can’t - I mean, this whole quest can’t afford to lose you. You’re the brains of this operation, right?”</p><p>“Obviously,” Tsukishima agrees, but he knows he’s sulking. He didn’t come all this way to be treated like some helpless damsel. To hide somewhere safe while Kuroo and Bokuto risk their lives and play heroes together.</p><p>He came to stand by Kuroo’s side.</p><p>“But can’t I just -"</p><p>“I just need you to sit on the sidelines this time, okay?” Kuroo doesn’t wait for him to respond before he’s charging towards the lion. “I’m the quest leader, you can trust me!” He calls over his shoulder, narrowly dodging a swipe of the large cat’s giant paw. Bokuto gives Tsukishima an apologetic shrug before he’s joining the fray, running between the lion’s legs and swiping at him from behind.</p><p>It’s agony to sit aside and watch helplessly as two people you love put themselves in danger right before your eyes. Tsukishima has his thumbnail caught between his teeth, watching every move Bokuto and Kuroo make with dread and anxiety swirling in his gut. Akaashi would be so disappointed in him right now, sitting by safely and doing nothing to help.</p><p>Okay, okay. Kuroo was right. He’s the brains of this quest, he can still do something from where he is.</p><p>The first step would be to figure out what monster it is that they’re up against exactly. Tsukishima racks his brain, but nothing he’s come across in his books over the years has said anything about a shapeshifting lion. It doesn't even look like a hybrid of any kind, has no special way of fighting as it swats and pounces at Kuroo and Bokuto, who dance around its feet, trying not to get caught by its claws. It just looks like a regular - albeit, huge - lion.</p><p>He tries to stay focused on the lion, but it’s a little difficult with how godsdamned <i>distracting</i> Kuroo is in a fight. Tsukishima has seen him in games of capture the flag and sparring with other campers during training, but this is the first time he’s ever seen him fight for <i>real.</i> It’s mesmerizing to watch the shifting of his muscles, and his quick reflexes that Tsukishima’s eyes can barely even track. </p><p>It all makes sense, when Tsukishima remembers that this is the same boy who had to fight his way to the Underworld by himself with absolutely no battle training at all. It makes sense, because Kuroo was so obviously born for this.</p><p>And that’s when Kuroo lands a strike on it.</p><p>His sword deflects right off of the lion’s fur with a metallic sounding <i>clang.</i></p><p>“What the - ?” Kuroo looks down at his own weapon in confusion.</p><p>“Watch out!” Bokuto shouts, shouldering Kuroo out of the way just in time to stop him from getting sliced to ribbons. His dual daggers thrown up protectively in front of him, literal sparks fly when the lion’s claws collide with them. Bokuto staggers back a step, still holding the lion at bay, and Kuroo takes the opportunity to sneak up on the monster’s other side, striking another blow against its flank.</p><p>His sword bounces harmlessly off once again.</p><p>“Why can’t we get a hit on this thing?” He growls, striking again and again to no avail.</p><p>The sunlight glints off of the lion’s pelt like pure gold and something clicks in Tsukishima’s mind.</p><p>He cups his hands around his mouth and shouts, “It’s the Nemean Lion!” Bokuto and Kuroo share a confused look, so Tsukishima elaborates. “Killing this thing was the first of Hercules’ twelve labors! It’s hide is completely impervious to attacks, and its claws are sharper than any sword!”</p><p>“Great!” Bokuto calls back, ducking and rolling out of the path of the lion’s claws. “So how the heck do we kill it?”</p><p>“Um!” Tsukishima says. “Give me a minute!”</p><p>“No worries, take your time!” Kuroo shoots him a thumbs up, narrowly avoiding getting swatted into next week by the lion’s paw.</p><p>Shit. This is bad. This is like, say-your-final-prayers bad. The <i>Nemean Lion?</i> How terrible could their luck be? Their first encounter with a monster on the quest, and it’s one of the most legendary and feared creatures of all time. Only <i>Hercules</i> was able to kill it in the past, how in Hades were the three of them supposed to do it now?</p><p>But… Hercules <i>was</i> able to kill it in the past, which means that the Nemean Lion <i>does</i> have a weakness. If Tsukishima could only remember what it is…</p><p>“Any day now, babe!” Kuroo sounds slightly out of breath now, and Tsukishima knows he’s running out of time. He’s so panicked, he doesn't even bother chastising Kuroo for the stupid pet name.</p><p>Impenetrable fur. Claws that would cut through demigod flesh like a knife through hot butter. Teeth bigger than their entire bodies. How do you kill something like that?</p><p>
  <i>Think, Tsukishima. Come on, you have to remember. THINK.</i>
</p><p>Tsukishima’s brain is scrambling, a mess of jumbled thoughts, frayed strings tearing at the edges. He can’t seem to get a grasp on his thoughts, to ground himself - </p><p>Kuroo screams in agony.</p><p>The Nemean Lion’s claws have caught him, tearing right into his shoulder. His shirt hangs torn, and the sight of his blood dripping down his arm, all the way to his fingertips, is what spurs Tsukishima into remembering.</p><p>
  <i>The Nemean Lion is only impenetrable on the outside.</i>
</p><p>His feet are moving before his mind can think better of it, running into the clearing right for Kuroo. Bokuto keeps the lion occupied while Tsukishima puts Kuroo’s good arm over his shoulder, wraps an arm around him, and helps him stagger to the safety of the alleyway.</p><p>“Fuck!” Kuroo hisses vehemently, collapsing to his knees and clutching at his shoulder with bloodied hands. “Fuck, just give me some ambrosia so I can get back out there, would ya?”</p><p>“No way,” Tsukishima pushes him back down when Kuroo tries to climb to his feet. “If you try to fight that thing again in this state, it’ll kill you in seconds.” He reaches into his bag for Philia. “Just sit down and let me take care of it.”</p><p>Kuroo’s eyes narrow. “Kei, whatever is it you’re planning on doing, please -"</p><p>Tsukishima turns away without listening to the rest of his sentence. </p><p>“Bokuto!” He shouts. “I need you to make it mad!”</p><p>Bokuto laughs, dodging out of the path of the lion’s teeth, pivoting around and uselessly trying to dagger it in the neck. “I’m pretty sure that’s all I’m doing out here!”</p><p>“No, Bokuto.” Tsukishima takes a few steps closer, ignoring the trembling in his legs. “I need you to make it <i>really</i> mad.”</p><p>There’s a brief pause where Bokuto manages to look over and meet Tsukishima’s gaze. Understanding flashes in his wide, yellow eyes and he nods.</p><p>It takes only a few more seconds of Bokuto and the huge cat dancing, prowling around each other, before Bokuto manages to slide beneath its large body and get behind it.</p><p>Then, he grabs hold of its tail and <i>pulls.</i></p><p>The lion opens its mouth wide in an enraged roar, so wide that Tsukishima can see the soft, vulnerable pink inside of it’s throat. It has to be now. He needs to <i>move.</i></p><p>Tsukishima’s knees still shake when he starts to charge right at the monster, but he keeps running anyways. Even when he hears Kuroo screaming his name, begging him to come back, he doesn’t stop pushing forward.</p><p>He raises Philia high in the air, nothing but a golden tube now, but when he throws the weapon, he pushes the button right before he releases it.</p><p>He times it perfectly so that the second it enters the Nemean Lion’s mouth, both tips of the spear shoot out from either end, piercing the lion right through the throat. Bokuto barely moves out of the way in time to miss being crushed by its enormous body as it lets out a series of strangled, earth-shaking roars, kicking up on its two hind legs, before crashing to the ground hard enough to knock Tsukishima off his feet.</p><p>And then, as all monsters do when they die and go to Tartarus, it disintegrates into a cloud of golden dust. All that remains in the clearing is Tsukishima’s spear, sitting right in the middle of the of it.</p><p>Bokuto stares wide-eyed at him from the other side of the clearing, before erupting into a victorious shout.</p><p>“Damn, Tsukki, you did it! That was so cool! Holy shit, I had no idea you could fight like that? And where did you get this spear, this thing is awesome!”</p><p>Tsukishima can’t help the relieved and slightly giddy smile that tugs at his lips. He <i>did</i> it! Him, Tsukishima Kei, son of Athena, killed the <i>Nemean Lion.</i> No one, not even he himself, could doubt that he was good enough to stand by Kuroo’s side now.</p><p>Oh, Gods. <i>Kuroo.</i></p><p>He’s sitting right where Tsukishima left him, but he looks like he doesn’t even remember that he’s been injured. He’s just looking at Tsukishima. Looking at him like he’s seeing him again for the first time. Looking at him like - like - </p><p>Like he’s some kind of hero, or something.</p><p>“Are you okay?” Tsukishima drops to his knees in front of Kuroo, eyeing his wounds critically. “How bad does it hurt, on a scale of one to ten? We need to apply pressure to the -"</p><p>Kuroo apparently doesn’t care all that much for Tsukishima’s first aid advice, because as soon as Tsukishima is kneeling in front of him within arms’ reach, Kuroo is grabbing Tsukishima’s face in his bloodied hands and kissing him stupid. </p><p>It’s different than their first kisses had been, all soft and slow and full of lazy passion. It’s hot and fevered and desperate. Makes Tsukishima’s toes curl.</p><p>“That,” Kuroo says very seriously when they pull apart, “was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”</p><p>Tsukishima smirks and pushes Kuroo’s sweaty bangs out of his eyes. “What was that you said about sitting on the sidelines, oh wise quest leader?”</p><p>Kuroo laughs and the fact that they all almost just died feels like such a distant memory.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Luckily, Kuroo’s wounds aren’t actually that deep. He’s lost a good amount of blood, but it’s nothing that some ambrosia and nectar won’t have fixed up in a few hours.</p><p>They head down to a nearby stream to patch him up, and Bokuto tears off his clothes and cannonballs straight into the water to wash the sweat and “lion dust” off of himself, while Tsukishima rinses the blood out of Kuroo’s shirt and cleans off his cuts, and Kuroo slowly eats a square of ambrosia.</p><p>Well, Tsukishima is <i>trying</i> to clean Kuroo’s wound, but his body doesn’t seem to want to cooperate with him. His hands won’t stop shaking, trembling like he’s in the middle of an earthquake, and it’s so bad that he’s afraid to even go near Kuroo’s cuts in case he accidentally hurts him and makes it worse.</p><p>He takes deep, even breaths, trying to steady himself but when the cloth in his hand is just about to touch Kuroo’s skin, it starts up again and he has to pull away, cursing quietly to himself under his breath.</p><p>After the fifth or sixth time, Kuroo stops him, taking Tsukishima’s hand in his and holding it steady against his heart. His skin is warm and his chest is firm, and feeling his heart beating steadily manages to calm Tsukishima some, his own heartbeat syncing up with Kuroo’s.</p><p>“That was your first time fighting a monster for real, wasn’t it?”</p><p>Tsukishima releases a shaky exhale. “Yeah.”</p><p>“Nemean Lion right off the bat. Pretty impressive, if you ask me.”</p><p>“It was a little too easy, actually. I hope we run into the Minotaur next.”</p><p>Kuroo laughs and pulls Tsukishima’s hand to his lips. It’s so tender it almost hurts when Kuroo kisses his knuckles, so softly it might have been the wind.</p><p>“I really like your hands,” he whispers, breath ghosting over Tsukishima’s fingers.</p><p>Tsukishima arches an amused eyebrow.</p><p>“Did you lose too much blood?”</p><p>“I’m serious!” Kuroo insists, biting playfully at the tip of his thumb. The scrape of his teeth makes Tsukishima catch his breath. <i>Well. That’s new.</i> “I’ve always liked them, but I can actually finally tell you now.” Kuroo traces from the center of his palm up to the tip of each finger and back down in turn. “They’re so delicate and graceful and soft. How are they so soft? You don't have a single callous from sword training. Perfect.”</p><p>Tsukishima mumbles something under his breath, feeling his cheeks burn.</p><p>“What was that?” Kuroo leans closer to him, head cocked to the side.</p><p>“I said I like yours too!” Tsukishima blurts.</p><p>“Mine?” Kuroo repeats. “But compared to yours mine are so -"</p><p>“I know,” Tsukishima cuts him off softly. “I know - That’s <i>why</i> I like them. You’ve been through a lot, and your hands show that. But they’re still always so…gentle. Despite it all.”</p><p>Kuroo traces his cheekbone with featherlight touches, only further proving Tsukishima’s point and making him shiver in the summer sun.</p><p>“You know…” Kuroo smiles adoringly at him. “You make an awfully pretty nurse.”</p><p>“Don’t get used to it. I’ll gut you myself if you get hurt again, hear me?” Tsukishima pokes him hard in the center of the chest, only relenting when Kuroo nods quickly. “Good,” he huffs. “Now let me finish.”</p><p>Kuroo laughs and places a final kiss to Tsukishima’s fingertips before releasing his hand, which is now much steadier than before.</p><p>“I’ve never seen you fight with a spear before,” Kuroo muses aloud.</p><p>Tsukishima hums, dabbing at the dried blood splattered across Kuroo’s bronze skin. His shirtless chest is proving to be more than a little distracting while they wait for his shirt to dry out, and focusing on the blood instead of the chiseled lines of his abdomen isn’t really working to make him seem any less attractive.</p><p>“Mm, that’s because it’s new. It was a gift.”</p><p>“A gift?” Kuroo straightens, eyes narrowed suspiciously. “From who, huh?”</p><p>Tsukishima rolls his eyes, but secretly he kind of likes this new jealous side of Kuroo he’s seen lately.</p><p>“From Oikawa and Iwaizumi, actually. It was their way of inviting me to be their third. I said yes, of course. I mean, have you seen Iwaizumi’s arms?”</p><p>“Not funny,” Kuroo grumbles, but he’s smiling a little bit. “Seems like you’re pretty good with that thing. Better than you ever were with a sword,” he smirks. Tsukishima purposely digs his thumb into one of his cuts and Kuroo winces. “Ow, okay, okay, sorry!”</p><p>“Hm. Tendou taught me how to use it right before I came after your dumb ass.”</p><p>“Hey! My dumb ass was just trying to keep you safe!”</p><p>“You mean like you were doing when you told me to sit out of the fight earlier?” Tsukishima quirks a dangerous eyebrow and Kuroo swallows hard.</p><p>“That was pretty shitty of me, huh?” He admits, closing a hand around one of Tsukishima’s. “I’m sorry, Tsukki. I don’t mean to treat you like you’re made of glass, I know you can take care of yourself, but just - Just the idea of losing you -" Kuroo’s fingers tighten until his grip is almost painful.</p><p><i>He can’t lose anyone else. </i>Kuroo literally, physically cannot bear the weight of losing another person he loves. Tsukishima knows this. He's always known this, from the first day he met Kuroo. Before they spoke a single word to each other, when Tsukishima looked into his eyes, he knew that Kuroo was a kid who had already lost too much.</p><p>“Kuroo,” Tsukishima says gently. “Tetsurou,” he tries again when the other boy still refuses to meet his gaze. At the sound of his given name, Kuroo finally looks up. “You’re not going to lose me. Not today, or any day. I’ll always be by your side, for as long as you want me to be.”</p><p>Kuroo draws in a sharp inhale and gives him a watery smile. “Forever, then?”</p><p>“Forever, Death Boy.” Tsukishima links their pinkies together.</p><p>“Wow,” Bokuto says, floating with his arms resting on a rock next to them. “That was all very romantic and all, but can somebody please make sure I’m not going crazy and let me know if you also see that guy hiding in the bushes over there?”</p><p>Tsukishima is immediately back on alert, positioning himself so that he’s slightly in front of Kuroo and following Bokuto’s line of sight. Kuroo makes a little disgruntled sound at being protected, but he’s injured and Tsukishima isn’t taking any chances right now. </p><p>Sure enough, peeking out from one of the bushes a few yard away from them is a head of short, curly brown hair and…a pair of horns?</p><p>“Hey, you!” Tsukishima stands, pointing right at the hidden creature. “Satyr! What do you want from us?”</p><p>“Satyr?” Bokuto mumbles to Kuroo in confusion, just as the bushes rustle and a short, plump man with furry goat legs steps out from it. “Oh! Yup. That is definitely a satyr.”</p><p>“Demigods,” the satyr grumbles, voice gruff. “I should’ve know it would be a bunch of demigods behind all this commotion.”</p><p>“Oh, well, excuse us.” Tsukishima plants a hand on his hip. “It’s not like we sent the Nemean Lion a handwritten invitation to come and try to eat us or something!”</p><p>“You might as well have!” The satyr wags a finger at all three of them. “What in Hades are you three trying to do with that high-frequency beacon of yours? You summoned the damn Nemean Lion all the way from Pittsburgh! You’re lucky Cerberus was gone by the time you arrived, or he wouldn’t tried to turn you into puppy chow, too!”</p><p>“Cerberus?” Kuroo perks up. “He was here?”</p><p>“Wait, wait,” Tsukishima waves his question off because there’s something much more important that the satyr just said. “What beacon?”</p><p>The satyr walks - gallops? - closer to them, circling around their little group, even going so far as to lean over the edge of the water to get nose-to-nose with Bokuto. The son of Zeus goes cross-eyed, looking back at him.</p><p>“Hmmm, where is the damn thing? I know it’s coming from you three, I’ve been following it since you first got into town. One of you’s got a high-frequency beacon on you that only magical animals can hear. It drives them crazy, so they go into a frenzy. Makes them wanna tear stuff to pieces.”</p><p>“You don’t seem affected by it?” Bokuto points out. </p><p>The satyr wheels on him, pudgy face scrunched into a scowl.</p><p>“Do I look like an animal to you, kid?”</p><p>“Uh. No sir.” Bokuto shakes his head rapidly, water droplets flying everywhere.</p><p>“Hmph.” The satyr continues to sniff around them, ears to the ground. “I’m only part animal, for the record. I can hear the beacon, but it doesn’t affect me much more than just being really damn annoying.” He pauses, then begins to rifle through their things.</p><p>“Hey!” Tsukishima protests.</p><p>“Aha!” The satyr announces triumphantly, holding Tsukishima’s backpack over his head. “Gotcha!” He roots around in Tsukishima’s bag for a few seconds, then pulls out a tiny blinking device and throws it on the ground, crushing it under his hoof.</p><p>“Ah, that’s much better,” the satyr sighs in relief.</p><p>“How did that get there?” Tsukishima grabs his backpack and starts looking through it, like he might find the answer inside.</p><p>“Beats me,” the satyr shrugs. “Looks to me like someone was trying to cause you all a bit of trouble.”</p><p>“But - <i>Who?”</i> Tsukishima throws his bag to the ground in frustration. “Who would want to do that, and how would they even get the chance to get that close to me? There isn’t anyone who could have -" He stops short, a freezing chill clawing its way down his spine. “The guy who almost knocked me into the mineral bath in Saratoga.”</p><p>Kuroo growls under his breath, hands curling into fists. “I <i>knew</i> I didn’t like that guy.”</p><p>“How did we not notice?” Tsukishima groans. “He had his hands all over my back and we - Gods, the prophecy <i>warned</i> us about this! <i>’Keep your eyes on your back, or pay the cost’.”</i></p><p>“Looks like you paid the cost.” The satyr eyes Kuroo’s bloody shoulder.</p><p>“But, why would that random guy want to mess with us like that?” Bokuto pulls himself out of the water and shakes himself dry like a wet dog. The satyr shoots him a disgusted look.</p><p>“Because that wasn’t a random guy,” Tsukishima says, realization and dread curling together in the pit of his stomach. Kuroo meets his eyes and a similar look of horror comes across his own face.</p><p>“That was Thanatos.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>As sour-tempered as he was, running into that satyr ended up being a blessing in disguise.</p><p>Not only did he warn him about the beacon device Thanatos had snuck into Tsukishima’s backpack, but he also apparently felt bad enough for them (or just wanted to get them out of his town so badly) that he gave them their next lead.</p><p>“I heard some murmurs through the grapevine about some kind of disturbance down in the Allegheny Mountains of Virginia. And I mean, I <i>literally</i> heard it through the grapevine. She’s a nymph named Merlot, real fun at parties. Anyways, I think that might be your dog.”</p><p>Which is all fine and good except for one small problem: The Allegheny Mountain region of Virginia is about two hundred miles away, Kuroo is in no shape to be Shadow Traveling, and they are flat broke.</p><p>As certain as Tsukishima is that they’re going to get murdered, he can’t deny that hitchhiking their way down is just about the only option they have left, other than walking. Which, yeah, not happening.</p><p>There’s a small gas station just on the edge of town, and three of them sit just outside the entrance to the building. It feels like hours that they just sit watching cars pass by, with Tsukishima’s head resting on Kuroo’s shoulder and Bokuto sprawled out beside them, moaning about how empty his stomach is. Tsukishima can feel his own start to grumble, and he’s sure Kuroo’s body must be starving with how hard it’s been having to work to heal his wounds.</p><p>Finally, a car pulls into the gas station. It’s hard to miss, being as bright cherry red as it is, top rolled down and music blaring. Tsukishima perks up instantly, watching the driver, a man with gelled hair and a white t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up like a greaser from the 80’s, gets out of the car and puts the pump in his gas tank.</p><p>When he grabs his wallet and starts to head for the building while his car fuels, Tsukishima jumps to his feet to intercept the man.</p><p>“Tsukki, I don’t think -" Kuroo starts hesitantly, but Tsukishima doesn’t have time to stop and listen. This guy could be their only chance for the next few hours.</p><p>“Excuse me, sir.” Tsukishima says politely as he can, placing himself in the man’s path to the front door. The guy raises his eyebrows and pulls his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose to look at Tsukishima over the tops of the dark frames. “My friends are I were just on our way to Virginia, and I was wondering if you might be heading that way by any chance?”</p><p>He makes his eyes wide and innocent, so as not to give off any demigod-who-attracts-danger-every-other-minute vibes.</p><p>The man glances over at Kuroo and Bokuto, then back to Tsukishima and barks out a cruel-sounding laugh.</p><p>“You gotta be kiddin’ me, right? Ain’t no way I’m picking up a bunch of stray, flea-ridden brats and letting them ride in my Baby.” He glances lovingly over at the red convertible, then laughs again, shouldering Tsukishima roughly. “Outta my way, kid.”</p><p>“Hey!” Kuroo protests, rising quickly and catching Tsukishima when he stumbles. The man just throws a middle finger up at them without looking back.</p><p>“Well.” Tsukishima rights himself, brushing imaginary dust off his shoulder and frowning. “What a dick.”</p><p>“You want me to kill him?” Kuroo grunts. “I’ll totally kill that guy if you want me to.”</p><p>“I have a better idea.” Bokuto stands and sighs, looking resigned. “I didn’t ever want to use this, but if anybody deserves it, it’s that guy.”</p><p>He peeks into the store where the man is browsing the aisles with his back to the door, then crouches low and motions for Tsukishima and Kuroo to follow him. After sharing a confused look, they do.</p><p>Right over the the bright red convertible.</p><p>“What are you doing?” Tsukishima hisses, glancing nervously over his shoulder when Bokuto leans into the car and pops out a panel underneath the steering wheel, uncovering a maze of colorful wires.</p><p>“Getting us a ride. Just chill, Tsukki.” Bokuto turns to grin at him. “I got this.”</p><p>He touches the panel of wires and there’s a spark of electricity from his fingertip. Then, the engine revs.</p><p>Kuroo whistles low and impressed.</p><p>“Damn, Bo! You never told me you could hot wire a car?”</p><p>Bokuto looks down sheepishly. “I accidentally found out when I was eight and my dad left me in the car while he ran into the grocery store. It was pretty hard to explain to the cops how I managed to crash the car into a telephone pole without the keys to start it.”</p><p>“Bad. Ass.” Kuroo high-fives him.</p><p>“Okay, great,” Tsukishima interrupts their little congratulations party. “But can either of you even drive?”</p><p>“Never passed my driver’s test. I kept short-circuiting the test cars.” Bokuto shrugs, not looking that sorry about it.</p><p>Tsukishima turns to Kuroo, but the son of Hades is already vaulting himself over the driver’s side door and climbing behind the wheel of the car.</p><p>“Can I drive?” Kuroo repeats incredulously. He finds a pair of sunglasses (why the heck did the man need two?) tucked into the sun visor and puts them on, resting his elbow on the car door and grinning up at Tsukishima from behind the frames. “Why don’t you hop in and find out, pretty boy?”</p><p>Tsukishima literally cannot believe that he’s in love with this person.</p><p>“Shotgun!” Bokuto shouts. Kuroo shoves him back out of the car when he tries to jump in.</p><p>“Nuh uh, man! You’ve driven with me a hundred times before, you gotta let Tsukki get a front row seat to the magic!”</p><p>“If you could actually just knock me out and stick me in the trunk, that would be preferable.”</p><p>Unfortunately, nobody else agrees with Tsukishima’s plan, and he eventually lets himself be manhandled into the passenger seat, with Bokuto perched happily in the backseat.</p><p>And maybe, a tiny, indulgent part of Tsukishima is a little bit excited to see Kuroo drive. It’s so <i>normal</i> and <i>adult.</i> Just sitting behind the steering wheel like that, he looks so much older. More mature.</p><p>Kuroo shifts the car into drive and turns the radio on full blast, then goes tearing out of the parking lot. Tsukishima can see the man walking out of the gas station and dropping his bag to the floor in their rearview mirror, but he can’t hear what he’s yelling after them over the sound of the wind whipping in his ears and the music blaring.</p><p>“Does it really have to be this loud?” He shouts to Kuroo over all of the noise.</p><p>“Yes, it really has to be this loud!” Kuroo yells back. “It’s Bruce Springsteen!”</p><p>The wind blows wildly through Kuroo’s hair, his sunglasses and unbridled smile making something warm pulse through Tsukishima’s veins. Kuroo looks dangerous and free like this, like he might burn the whole world down and dance through the ashes all night long.</p><p><i>“Cause tramps like us, baby we were born to run,”</i> he sings along to the song on the radio. It’s totally off-key and his voice is rough, but it just adds to the overall effect.</p><p>Okay. It’s hot.</p><p>Kuroo is very, very hot.</p><p>For a brief moment, Tsukishima forces himself to look away, until he remembers he doesn’t have to. He can look at Kuroo as much as he wants to and he doesn’t have to worry about hiding a damn thing.</p><p>Just that thought alone makes him feel as free as Kuroo looks.</p><p>“What?” Kuroo asks. It takes a second for Tsukishima to realize he’s talking to him, grinning at him out of the corner of his eye, having clearly caught him staring.</p><p>“Nothing.” Tsukishima glances at Bokuto over his shoulder and sees the other boy distracted by looking around at the scenery before leaning across the middle console, tilting his head close to say directly in Kuroo’s ear, “You just look <i>really</i> good right now.”</p><p>When he pulls away, Kuroo’s face is beet red. Even through the dark lenses, Tsukishima can see how blown wide his eyes are, and he settles back comfortably in his seat, pleased with his work.</p><p>“You’re the devil, Tsukishima Kei!”</p><p>Tsukishima laughs, and the wind carries it away.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Their gas tanks runs dry just as the convertible rolls into a small, woodsy town with white paint-chipped buildings and unlined gravel roads.</p><p>Kuroo checks the car’s GPS. “Well, looks like this is it, demi-ladies and demi-guys. The Allegheny Mountains of Virginia.”</p><p>He hops out of the car and hurries over to the passenger side to open Tsukishima’s door for him, taking his hand and helping him out like some sort of gallant price. Tsukishima punches him in the shoulder for acting so ridiculous, then kisses him on the cheek for going to the trouble. Kuroo swoons dramatically, holding his face and flopping across the hood of the car.</p><p>Tsukishima rolls his eyes and laughs.</p><p>He feels refreshed after the drive. The fresh air in his face and not having to be on his feet for hours had done wonders for him. Not to mention, they found a stash of protein bars in the glove compartment and all scarfed down three each (six, in Bokuto’s case).</p><p>He has a good feeling about this place, this time. Like luck might finally be on their side.</p><p>After an hour of walking around, however, it becomes painfully clear that his gut feelings were way off base.</p><p>“Guys,” Bokuto scuffs the ground with the toes of his sneakers miserably. “I think we were too late again.”</p><p>As badly as Tsukishima wants to argue with him, to prove Bokuto wrong, he can’t. </p><p>The only signs of Cerberus left in this little rural Virginia town is a few knocked over mailboxes and a hole in a storefront window that the owners were already working on patching up. They spoke to a few locals who told them that the bear had torn through town, run into the woods, and disappeared completely. The same thing that had happened in Pennsylvania.</p><p>It seemed that Cerberus never stayed in one place long, a few minutes at most. They were trailing hopelessly behind him each and every time.</p><p>They weren’t even getting close.</p><p>“It’s my fault.” Kuroo’s eyebrows draw together, fists clenching at his sides. “If I hadn’t gotten hurt I would’ve been able to Shadow Travel us here, and maybe we could have caught up to him.”</p><p>“It’s <i>not</i> your fault.” Tsukishima takes one of Kuroo’s hands and uncurls his fingers so that he can slot their fingers together.</p><p>If anything, it’s his own fault. He’s supposed to be the brains here, he’s supposed to see the big picture and come up with the plans, but he’s falling horribly short. There has to be some kind of pattern here that he’s not seeing, a puzzle he hasn’t managed to solve yet.</p><p>“Hey. It’s not yours, either.” Kuroo says quietly, squeezing Tsukishima’s hand.</p><p>Tsukishima doesn’t know how Kuroo always manages to read his mind like that.</p><p>“Yeah, I know,” Tsukishima lies.</p><p>“Maybe this is a blessing in disguise, you guys!” Bokuto smiles a little too big, like he’s trying to forcefully transfer some of his happiness into Tsukishima and Kuroo. “Now we have time to go the gift shop!”</p><p>Tsukishima glances around at the barren town. There’s a post office, three Southern comfort food restaurants, and a psychic.</p><p>“Um. What gift shop?”</p><p>Bokuto grabs Tsukishima and Kuroo by the wrists, tugging them along behind him towards the outskirts of town. </p><p>“It’s not here, we passed by it earlier. The Omni Homestead resort. Harry’s always wanted to come here, he’s such a history nerd and twenty-two of the US presidents have stayed there. I wanna get a t-shirt for him. Plus, they have some of the best hot springs in the country!”</p><p>Bokuto and Kuroo continue chatting as they make their way out of town and towards a large, sprawling red-stone resort just in the distance, but Tsukishima tunes them out. All of the sounds and sights around him become muffled background noise, the threads in his mind tugging and twisting and knotting themselves together.</p><p>The pieces of the puzzle slowly starting to come together.</p><p>“Bokuto,” Tsukishima says suddenly, interrupting whatever it was that Kuroo was saying. They both look over at him curiously. “Can I come to the gift shop with you?”</p><p>Bokuto’s face lights up. “Sure! But, uh, only if you don’t have any moral hang-ups about stealing, because we’re still out of money.”</p><p>“We literally just stole a car, I think I’m well past any moral hang-ups at this point.”</p><p>Still, he does feel a little bit guilty when he goes strolling into the gift shop with Athena’s Invisibility Cap on, using Bokuto as a cover to open doors for him and such, then silently sneaks back out with a t-shirt for Bokuto’s dad stuffed in his backpack, along with a few other items for himself.</p><p>Tsukishima keeps the cap as they make their around the back of the resort building and join Kuroo at a picnic table in a large grassy area. Kuroo looks around to make sure nobody’s watching them before snatching the cap right off Tsukishima’s invisible head.</p><p>“How did you know where I was?” Tsukishima frowns, fingers combing out his hat hair.</p><p>Kuroo just grins and taps his temple. “Sixth sense, baby. Plus, I could feel you practically breathing down my neck.”</p><p>“I wasn’t - !” Tsukishima stops when he sees the teasing grin on Kuroo’s face. “You’re so annoying. I’m going back to the gift shop to return the magnet I got you.”</p><p>Kuroo gasps delightedly. “Babe, you got me a magnet?”</p><p>“Not anymore, I didn’t.”</p><p>“Aw, come on!” Kuroo throws his arms around Tsukishima from behind, hooking his chin over his shoulder. “You can’t return it, it’s the first boyfriend gift you’ve ever gotten me!”</p><p>“The first - <i>what?”</i> Tsukishima chokes. Kuroo abruptly pulls away, his own eyes nearly bugging out of his head, face flushed scarlet.</p><p>“Uh - That is - I mean, wow, is it like, really hot out here?” He laughs awkwardly, tugging at his shirt collar.</p><p>
  <i>Boyfriend.</i>
</p><p>Holy Hades, were they boyfriends?</p><p>Neither of them had explicitly said it yet, but - well, they didn’t have to, did they? They were together, no matter what you called it. Tsukishima was Kuroo’s, and Kuroo was his.</p><p>“Okay.”</p><p>“Okay?” Kuroo repeats. Tsukishima shrugs and gives him a meaningful smile. “Oh. <i>Oh.”</i> Kuroo’s face nearly splits in half with a grin. “Okay, yes, that’s very okay with me, if it’s okay with -"</p><p>“Here it is.” Bokuto, with his head half-buried in Tsukishima’s backpack unceremoniously chucks the magnet at Kuroo, hitting him square in the forehead.</p><p>“Thanks, Bo.” Kuroo scowls, rubbing his forehead. Bokuto doesn’t even notice, happily pulling out the t-shirt Tsukishima grabbed for Harry out of his bag.</p><p>“This is perfect, Tsukki! He’s gonna love it.”</p><p>“Did you get anything for yourself?” Kuroo peers over Tsukishima’s shoulder.</p><p>“Actually, yes. I did.”</p><p>“Oooh, let me see!” Bokuto pushes up on his elbows to lean over the table. “Hm.” He sits back down once he sees the object Tsukishima pulls out of his bag. “That was anticlimactic.”</p><p>“It’s a map?” Kuroo says as Tsukishima unfolds it across the table.</p><p>“It’s a topographic map,” Tsukishima explains, running his fingertips over the bumps and ridges. “It doesn’t just show you where things are, it shows you the geographical characteristics of them.” He take Kuroo’s hand and traces it over three areas on the map. “These are the places we’ve already tracked Cerberus to. Notice any similarities between them?”</p><p>“They’re all…bumpy?”</p><p>Tsukishima shakes his head. “No, there’s a pattern here. A method to Cerberus’ madness. I knew there had to be, but I just couldn’t figure out what it was at first. Bokuto helped me realize it, actually.”</p><p>“I did?” Bokuto puffs up proudly.</p><p>“When you were talking about the resort and this area, I finally put it all together. It’s not just random places that we’re following him to: They’re all hot springs.”</p><p>“Holy shit,” Kuroo breathes. He’s looking at Tsukishima with the kind of reverence and awe that should be reserved for worshippers in the temples of their Gods.</p><p>“But why would Cerberus be going to a bunch of hot springs?” Bokuto feels the bumps on the map like they’ll tell him the answer. “Does Hades not give him enough baths, or something?”</p><p>“No, idiot.” Tsukishima smacks him on the back of the head. “It’s the heat and the smell of sulfur that hot springs give off. They remind him of the Underworld. He's just trying to find his way home. It was even in the prophecy, remember?” Tsukishima digs through his bag, pulling out the scrap of paper. “See, this part here. <i>‘You shall chase the season.’</i> It’s the springs!”</p><p>“Tsukki!” Kuroo laughs like he’s just discovered the most wonderful thing in the whole universe. “You’re a godsdamned genius!”</p><p>Tsukishima blushes. “I’m sure that any child of Athena would have easily come to the same conclusion.”</p><p>“No,” Kuroo shakes his head vehemently. “No, Tsukki, I mean it. You’re amazing. I - I literally don’t know how we would have gotten through this quest without you.”</p><p>“We haven’t gotten through it yet,” Tsukishima warns. “But, this might give us a leg up. Instead of chasing after Cerberus, we can get there first.”</p><p>“Get where?” Bokuto asks.</p><p>Tsukishima takes Bokuto’s wrist and pulls his hand from its place on the East Coast of the map, dragging it all the way so that his fingers rest over Colorado.</p><p>“Here. The Glenwood Hot Springs are the largest hot springs in the entire world. I don’t know exactly when, but I’m sure Cerberus will show up there eventually, and when he does -"</p><p>“We’ll already be there waiting for him,” Kuroo finishes. His eyes are alight with a crackling fire. “Him and Thanatos both.” Realization suddenly crosses his features, making his lips part slightly in surprise. “Oh. Huh.”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“I think - I think I just figured out the last part of the prophecy.”</p><p>“The, uh, the death part?” Bokuto swallows hard.</p><p>“Yeah,” Kuroo lets out a disbelieving laugh. “I don’t think the ‘death’ part has anything to do with the actual act of dying at all.”</p><p>“Thanatos.” Tsukishima realizes, and Kuroo nods in agreement.</p><p>“The prophecy told me that if I follow my heart, I’ll be sure to meet death, right? Well, Tsukki is my heart, and if I go where he tells me to, we’ll find the God of Death in Colorado. It’s telling me to follow you to find Thanatos.”</p><p>Tsukishima blinks a few times, taking a moment to let the very essence of Kuroo Testurou sink into his pores and fill him up with all of the bravery and heart and soul that comes with it.</p><p>How can he just do things like that and make it seem so effortless? To do things like call Tsukishima his <i>heart</i> and not even look the slightest bit abashed by it? To solve the most important, most terrifying line of the prophecy in a split second, without even trying?</p><p>To make Tsukishima fall, like, 300% more in love with him when he was so sure that his heart couldn’t possibly take any more.</p><p>“I’m - You’re - <i>Fuck.”</i> Tsukishima gives up on trying to make any sense with his words, and instead grabs Kuroo around the back of the neck and yanks him in for an entirely tactless kiss. Bokuto makes exaggerated retching noises, but Kuroo just smiles into his mouth and kisses back with no hesitation.</p><p>“Are you good to Shadow Travel?” Tsukishima asks, pressing their foreheads together.</p><p>Kuroo rolls his healing shoulder experimentally and grins. “Just say the word, and I’m ready to go.”</p><p>“I’m serious, Kuroo,” Tsukishima butts their heads together gently. “Only if you’re at one hundred percent strength. I don’t want to risk pushing you too soon and getting you hurt even more.”</p><p>“I’m serious, too. I know my limits, Tsukki. And right now I am one hundred and <i>ten</i> percent ready to go kick the God of Death’s ass for feeling up my boyfriend.”</p><p>“And stealing your dad’s dog and risking throwing the entire world into ecological catastrophe.”</p><p>“Yeah, sure. That, too.”</p><p>A laugh bubbles out of Tsukishima as he threads his fingers into Kuroo’s hair.  “We’re not gonna die.”</p><p>“We’re not gonna die,” Kuroo repeats with a bright grin.</p><p>“We still might die,” Bokuto points out.</p><p>“Shut <i>up,</i> Bokuto!”</p><p>“Come on, man!”</p><p>“Sorry - ow! I’m sorry!”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Tsukishima doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to the twisting, warping, stomach-dropping feeling of Shadow Travel any time soon.</p><p>The closest thing he can relate the feeling to is when he was nine years old and Sugawara and Akaashi got permission from Chiron to take him to Coney Island for the day and he rode the Cyclone for the first (and last) time. He screamed bloody murder and kept his eyes shut the entire time, burying his face in Sugawara’s chest and longing for the moment the ride would come to a stop and all of his insides would settle into their proper places again.</p><p>Shadow Traveling feels a lot like that - like none of your insides are where they should be and all you want to do is scream. He has no idea how Kuroo does it so regularly without seeming to be even the slightest bit affected by it.</p><p>Except for when they land in Colorado, once Tsukishima is sure that he’s not going to empty the contents of his stomach into the nearest bush, he notices that Kuroo is distinctly grey and fuzzy around the edges. </p><p><i>“Burn yourself out too much and you’ll become one of those shadows,”</i> he hears Akaashi’s stern voice in his head.</p><p>“You idiot!” He punches Kuroo in the shoulder, feeling like he’s going to be sick all over again when his fist sinks into him with very little resistance. “I told you not to jump unless you were strong enough!”</p><p>“Ow, I’m sorry! I felt totally fine, I swear. I guess I just didn’t realize how much healing that scratch took out of me.” He shrugs one shoulder half-heartedly, but even just that small movement seems to wind him. Tsukishima frowns and steps closer, reaching up to cup his cheeks in his hands.</p><p>Kuroo looks like he’s fading in more ways than one. It’s hard to imagine that just this morning they were sitting at that little cafe in Saratoga Springs, only to Shadow Travel to Pennsylvania and fight the Nemean Lion, then steal a car and drive all the way down to Virginia, and <i>then</i> Shadow Travel to Colorado. They’ve been through a lot in just the past twelve hours. Kuroo especially, but even Bokuto is uncharacteristically subdued, sitting under a tree with his eyes obviously fighting to stay open. The weight of Tsukishima’s own exhaustion suddenly drops down on him like a hundred-pound weighted blanket</p><p>“You need rest. A lot of rest, right now. We all do. It’s been a long day for all of us, and we wouldn’t stand a chance against Thanatos in the shape we’re in now.”</p><p>“What if -" Bokuto cuts himself off with a jaw-cracking yawn. “What if they come while we’re sleeping?”</p><p>As if in response to his question, the bush to his left suddenly shifts and grows, its branches stretching and unfolding into limbs and the leaves parting and flowing until it’s no longer a bush at all, and is instead a pretty young girl with green skin and red berries in her hair.</p><p>Tsukishima blinks at her a few times, rubbing his eyes to make sure she isn’t a figment of his worn-down mind.</p><p>She’s still there. The nymph is apparently real.</p><p>“Um.” Bokuto eloquently sums up all of Tsukishima’s thoughts. Kuroo looks like he’s still processing, squinting at the green-skinned girl and leaning heavily against Tsukishima’s shoulder.</p><p>“We’ll keep watch for you,” the nymph says, apropos of nothing and with an air of finality. Even though she’s the only one standing before them in human form, Tsukishima can feel the watchful eyes of all the trees and plants around them and knows that she isn’t alone.</p><p>“That’s very generous of you, but… Why?”</p><p>Tsukishima may never have met a nymph in person before, but he’s heard stories about them. They hate humans for what they’ve done to the planet, and while they aren’t usually antagonistic in nature, they aren’t very helpful either.</p><p>The nymph eyes them all carefully. “You’re the half bloods hunting Cerberus, aren’t you? The ones who slayed the Nemean Lion?”</p><p>Kuroo shifts uncomfortably against Tsukishima’s side. “I wouldn't say that we’re <i>hunting</i> him…”</p><p>“And the God of Death,” the nymph continues, ignoring Kuroo’s remark. “You’re going to stop him, too. Aren’t you?”</p><p>“That’s the plan.” Bokuto nods in agreement.</p><p>“Then we will help you,” the nymph decides. “If he succeeds in his plan to send Persephone back to Olympus, all of nature -" A small green tear rolls down her cheek. “Or at least what we’ve managed to save of it, will be gone. Ruined. We’re the spirits of this forest, and we’ll do everything we can to stop that from happening.”</p><p>Tsukishima steps forward to shake her hand. “Thank you, uh…”</p><p>“Holly,” the nymph provides, putting her small, dewey green hand in his.</p><p>“Thank you, Holly. I swear, we won’t let him get away with this.”</p><p>Holly smiles at him, small and sad.</p><p>“It’s been so long since I’ve put my trust in humans. Please don’t let me down.”</p><p><i>Oh, sure,</i> Tsukishima thinks. <i>Let me just add you to the list.</i></p><p>Don’t let his siblings and his friends down by failing the quest after they all worked so hard to get him here.</p><p>Don’t let his mother down by bringing shame to her children.</p><p>Don’t let the world down by throwing it into an ecological disaster.</p><p>Don’t let the nymphs down by letting their homes get destroyed.</p><p>Don’t let Kuroo down by not being able to get him to see his mom and sister again.</p><p>
  <i>Don’t fail, Kei. Don’t fail, you can’t fail.</i>
</p><p>Kuroo’s arm winds its way around his waist, fingers curling over his hipbone and holding on tight. Tsukishima lets out a harsh exhale that he didn’t even realize was building up inside of him.</p><p>“Come on,” Kuroo murmurs, pressing a light kiss to his temple. “Brain off, time for sleep. We’ll start again in the morning, okay?”</p><p>“Yeah. Yeah, okay.” Tsukishima’s entire body sags in relief, as if it had just been waiting for Kuroo’s permission to relax, the assurance from the person he trusts most that he can let his guard down now, and everything will be okay.</p><p>Kuroo had Shadow Jumped them into some woods nearby the hot springs. Holly told them they were just between Aspen and Vail, and when he finally got a moment to look around and take in their surroundings, Tsukishima realized it was the most beautiful place he’s ever been. There are trees taller than he’s ever seen all around them, and miles and miles of mountains surrounding them, as far as the eye can see. They are in the Rockies, after all, one of the few natural beauties that humans haven’t completely spoiled yet. Still wild and unyielding.</p><p>He wants so badly to spend hours just looking and looking at the view, but as soon as Holly clears a little patch of grass for them, complete with woven pillows and some fruit to eat, he knocks out cold.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>When Tsukishima wakes again, it’s to warm puffs of breath on his cheek and a heavy leg thrown across his waist.</p><p>He slowly blinks his eyes open and can barely see anything but Kuroo’s nightmarish bedhead in his face. He huffs affectionately, patting down the wild stands so that he can see the peacefully sleeping face of the boy curled around him. Kuroo must have gone searching out for Tsukishima in his sleep, and the thought warms him down to his toes.</p><p>Kuroo looks much better this morning, glowing healthy and strong in the sunlight, nothing like the ghostly grey pallor he had worn the night before. Tsukishima allows himself a moment to gently trail his fingertips across Kuroo’s sharp jaw, the line of his brow, the delicate skin where his inky lashes flutter against his cheekbones. He still can’t quite believe that he’s allowed to do this. To love someone as strong and beautiful as Kuroo Tetsurou.</p><p>Careful not to wake his sleeping boyfriend (<i>boyfriend!</i>), Tsukishima gently pries Kuroo’s limbs from where they’re wrapped around him and stands, cracking out a few kinks in his spine. Sleeping on a forest floor is never his first choice, but Holly had made the ground soft and pliant for them.</p><p>Bokuto is still snoring like a chainsaw, and with any luck Kuroo will be able to get in a few more hours of sleep as well. The nymphs are looking after them, Tsukishima knows, and they’ll surely wake them if Cerberus and Thanatos show up, so he decides to go off and do a little exploring before then.</p><p>Before the battle.</p><p>He hopes it’ll at least be that: A battle and not a massacre.</p><p>He’s never fought a god before, so he can’t be sure, but no god has ever fought Kuroo and Bokuto before either, and Tsukishima believes in the two of them more than any other force in the cosmos.</p><p>There’s a narrow path leading away from the clearing and Tsukishima follows it through the forest. He brings his backpack along, too, just in case he ends up spraining his ankle or something and needing some ambrosia, gods forbid.</p><p>For a while there’s nothing but thick tree trunks around him and rustling trees above him, but then beyond the trees he comes across a rocky clearing jutting out over the woods. It’s high above the treetops, and his breath catches in his throat. He can see everything from up here - the mountains and the trees and the lakes sparkling in the morning sunlight.</p><p>Is that what it feels like for the gods up on Mount Olympus? Always above everything else, looking down as the world turns at their feet?</p><p>Tsukishima huffs a laugh under his breath and thinks, no. The gods don’t appreciate the beauty and the intricacies of life below them like this. They don’t really care.</p><p>He takes a few more deep breaths of the clean mountain air, spends a few more minutes enjoying his place on the top of the world, before deciding to head back down. He’s been wandering around for quite a while now, and Bokuto and Kuroo should be waking up soon.</p><p>In hindsight, it’s incredible that Tsukishima didn’t notice the giant beast coming up behind him until they were literally nose-to-snout.</p><p>A scream tries to tear its way out of Tsukishima’s throat when he turns and finds himself mere inches away from a pair of dangerously glinting copper eyes and a snarling set of jaws bigger than his entire head.</p><p>No, not just one set of jaws.</p><p>Three.</p><p>
  <i>Found him.</i>
</p><p>Tsukishima goes completely still, every muscle in his body locking in place, barely daring to breathe as three gigantic canine heads circle around him. The center head looks him dead in the eyes while the other two sniff him out suspiciously, circling around him and drenching his skin in hot, wet puppy-breath.</p><p>His heartbeat is thunderous in his ears as he tries to plan out his next move through the paralyzing terror and panic gripping at his mind.</p><p>So he was right. It provides little comfort in this moment, but he was right, nonetheless. They did it, they finally caught up to Cerberus.</p><p>Now, Tsukishima just has to not die before they get him home.</p><p>Easy.</p><p>Cerberus growls from all three heads, and it feels like a mini earthquake shakes Tsukishima’s entire body. But the dog still hasn’t attacked, or even shown any aggressive behavior towards him at all.</p><p>Tsukishima doesn’t realize why until suddenly all three heads stop sniffing at him and pull away, just a few inches but far enough for Tsukishima to see the way Cerberus lowers his guard. His eyes go soft, lips lowering from a snarl into something less threatening.</p><p>He whines and ducks his head, almost as if in…familiarity. For a master.</p><p>Slightly trembling, Tsukishima reaches out and lays a hand on the nose of Cerberus’ center head. The dog’s tongue lolls out happily and Tsukishima breathes again, letting out a shaky laugh.</p><p>“That’s it, boy,” he whispers. “I smell like Kuroo, don’t I? Perks of dating a clingy son of Hades, I guess.”</p><p>Cerberus whines like he understands, like he recognizes Kuroo’s name. A son of the Underworld.</p><p>“Yeah, there you go, buddy.” Tsukishima pets him with firmer strokes now, the entire length of his hand barely even covering the large dog’s nose. “You won’t hurt me.”</p><p>He sees the flash of a bone white dagger out of the corner of his eye, but it all happens too fast for him to react.</p><p>“He might not hurt you,” says a hauntingly familiar voice. “But I will.”</p><p>Cerberus whines unhappily, backing away from Tsukishima as the freezing cold blade is pressed to the exposed skin of his jugular.</p><p>“Thanatos.” Just saying his name makes Tsukishima’s veins fill with ice.</p><p>“Nice to see you again, pretty boy.”</p><p>He can’t see it, but he can feel the god’s sharp grin.</p><p>Tsukishima’s eyes dart around wildly, looking for a way out of this mess, something he can use to escape, but there’s just trees. Nothing but Cerberus cowering in confusion, and trees.</p><p>“The feeling isn’t mutual.” Tsukishima can’t hide the tremors in his voice and it makes Thanatos laugh, something chilling and cruel. He feels the hand that isn’t holding the blade press against the small of his back, and decides in that moment that he never wants anyone but Kuroo to touch him like that again.</p><p>“Come now,” Thanatos simpers. “Is that any way to talk to an old friend?”</p><p>“You hold all of your friends at knifepoint for petting your dog?”</p><p>The hand on Tsukishima’s back reaches up to grab his hair and wrench his head back. He can feel the knife dig in a little harder and a trickle of blood makes its way down his neck. Cerberus’ whining gets louder. Tsukishima grits his teeth and bares it.</p><p>“You’re funny, Tsukishima Kei. Not just a pretty face, then. I truly am sorry to have to deprive this world of you.”</p><p>Oh. So this is really it.</p><p>Tsukishima lets his eyes flutter closed. This wasn’t how he planned on going, but who was he to defy the Fates without Kuroo by his side? Together, they could do anything, but alone, Tsukishima was at the whims of the gods.</p><p>And this particular one wanted him dead.</p><p>Gods, he hopes Kuroo doesn’t blame himself for this. He hopes it doesn’t break him, he hopes it only makes Kuroo stronger. He wishes - Fuck, he wishes he could have stayed with him.</p><p>Just a little longer, he would have liked to stay by Kuroo’s side.</p><p>It really was too good to be true. The idea that someone like him could love someone as strong and beautiful as Kuroo Tetsurou. He wishes he could rewind back to that perfect moment, waking up to Kuroo’s arms wrapped securely around him, and decide to just stay there, rather than run off on his own. </p><p>To spend just a second more with him, if he had known it would be his last.</p><p>“It’s a shame you had to go and figure this whole thing out.” Thanatos draws the blade up and down the sensitive skin of his throat. “If you never put the pieces together and realized it was me who let the mutt out, I might have been able to spare your life. I might have been able to spare that little boyfriend of yours.”</p><p>Tsukishima’s eyes fly open, thrashing in Thanatos’ grasp, rage blinding him to the way it makes the blade dig further into his throat.</p><p>“He’ll kill you,” he snarls. “You’ll never be able to hurt him, he’ll kill you, I swear it.”</p><p>Thanatos chuckles darkly.</p><p>“The promises of a dead man are meaningless.”</p><p>He hopes that Sugawara and Akaashi are able to forgive themselves for sending him on this quest. He hopes Oikawa and Iwaizumi find someone more worthy than him to carry their weapon. He hopes someone brings Ushijima home to Tendou.</p><p>Will anyone even tell his father what happened to him?</p><p>A single tear escapes the corner of Tsukishima’s eye and Cerberus howls like an animal in mourning.</p><p>“He’ll stop you,” Tsukishima whispers, tilting his head towards the sunlight. “Kuroo won’t lose. The Fates would never allow it.”</p><p>“The Fates don’t decide my future for me.”</p><p>Tsukishima smiles to himself.</p><p>“Yeah. That’s what I thought, too.”</p><p>“Enough!” Thanatos spins him around and pushes him to the ground so that he lands on his back in the dirt. </p><p>The god hovers above him like a dark, vengeful angel and Tsukishima swears he can see the faint outline of pitch black wings sprouting from his back. He’s almost beautiful, in a tragic sort of way. He kneels over Tsukishima, pinning his arms to the ground with his knees and lets the tip of his blade lightly kiss the raw and scratched up skin of Tsukishima’s neck. </p><p>“This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you, pretty.” </p><p>The tip of the blade pierces his skin and Tsukishima closes his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>
  <i>“I’m Tsukishima Kei, from the Athena cabin.”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Kuroo. You’re hard for me to look at.”</i>
</p><p> </p><p>Oh. Is this what Kuroo had been talking about that day in the strawberry fields?</p><p> </p><p>
  <i>“Bokuto isn’t my best friend, Tsukki. You are. You’re my favorite person in the whole world.”</i>
</p><p> </p><p>The last thing you see before you die.</p><p> </p><p>
  <i>“Did you know all of your letters smell like strawberries? Just like you.”</i>
</p><p> </p><p>Of course his is Kuroo. What else could it possibly be?</p><p> </p><p>
  <i>“Tsukki, that first night in the dining pavilion when you walked up to the Big Three table and offered me your hand, you saved my life.”</i>
</p><p> </p><p>It really isn’t so unbearable, to die like this, with nothing but visions of all of his favorite memories with Kuroo. Maybe Kuroo had been onto something, after all.</p><p>This isn’t so bad, not when he has Kuroo with him. It’s almost…peaceful.</p><p>He’s not afraid.</p><p>“You’re damn right it is!”</p><p>There’s a deafening <i>crack</i> from above, and suddenly Thanatos is being hit square in the chest with a bolt of lightning, throwing him off of Tsukishima’s chest and far over the edge of the rocky cliff.</p><p>Well. He didn’t see that one coming.</p><p>Tsukishima sucks in a harsh, gasping breath, hands clutching at his chest just to make sure that yes, his heart is still beating. Blood is still pumping from his veins. His lungs are still breathing air. He didn’t die.</p><p>
  <i>He didn’t die.</i>
</p><p>“That won’t kill him or anything,” Bokuto flexes his fingers and grins maniacally. It’s the best sight Tsukishima has ever seen in his life. “But it definitely didn’t feel good. Should buy us a few minutes, at least. Are you okay - ?”</p><p>“Kei!”</p><p>The sight of Kuroo running towards him, the sound of his name on Kuroo’s lips again, it makes Tsukishima’s chest ache and he can’t stop the tears that start spilling. He was so close to never getting to experience this, to never making another new memory with Kuroo ever again.</p><p>Kuroo slides onto his knees next to Tsukishima, not even seeming to care about way the rocks must be scraping him, and puts a hand behind his head, gently easing him up into an upright position. As soon as he’s sitting, he falls into Kuroo’s chest, he doesn’t care if it makes him look weak. Kuroo’s arms immediately wrap around him almost painfully, holding him like he’s the only thing keeping Tsukishima from falling to pieces which he really might be, at this point.</p><p>“It’s alright, Kei, it’s alright. I’ve got you now, everything is going to be okay, sweetheart.”</p><p>“Shit,” Tsukishima croaks, hands fisted tight in Kuroo’s shirt. “I’m - I’m still alive?”</p><p>Kuroo laughs wetly and holds Tsukishima’s face in his hands gingerly, wiping away tears with his thumbs, and looking at him like he’s the most precious thing in the world and not a blotchy, red-faced crying mess.</p><p>“You didn’t really think you were going to die, did you? That would’ve been a pretty short forever, and you promised me, remember?”</p><p>The way he says it, with such confidence and finality, Tsukishima is ashamed that he ever doubted it for a single second. Doubted that Kuroo Tetsurou was more powerful than the Fates, the Gods, and every other force of nature themselves.</p><p>“Yeah, I remember, Death boy.” Tsukishima lowers his eyelids and tilts his chin up for a kiss. </p><p>He doesn’t exactly get the one he was expecting.</p><p>“Ugh! Cerberus, gross, my mouth was open!” Tsukishima frantically scrubs his tongue with the back of his hand. Kuroo collapses with laughter as the Hellhound continues to lick Tsukishima all over his face, knocking his glasses askew and making his hair stand on end.</p><p>“Aww, he likes you!” Bokuto coos.</p><p>“Yeah, yeah,” Tsukishima grumbles, taking one of the dog’s massive heads in his hands and petting him. “He only likes me because I smell so much like Death Boy.”</p><p>Kuroo scratches behind the left head’s ears, grinning. “You’re welcome.”</p><p>“How did you guys even know I was here?” Tsukishima asks, some of the adrenaline of almost dying fading now that he’s safely tucked away in Kuroo’s arms again. For now.</p><p>Kuroo nods to the trees around them. “The nymphs warned us what was going on, and when Cerberus howled, we were able to follow the sound and find you here. Good timing, too.” He frowns, carefully tilting Tsukishima’s chin up so that he can get a good look at his neck. Tsukishima hasn’t had a chance to check himself out in a mirror recently, but from the dark look on Kuroo’s face, he has a feeling it doesn’t look very pretty.</p><p>“They’re just flesh wounds. They barely even hurt,” Tsukishima assures him, but Kuroo’s expression only gets darker.</p><p>“I’m going to kill him.”</p><p>Tsukishima can’t help the crazed grin that takes over his face, catching Kuroo’s chin between his fingers and giving him a quick kiss.</p><p>“I know you will.”</p><p>“Guys,” Bokuto says, voice grave. “He’s coming back.”</p><p>Turns out, the wings that Tsukishima imagined seeing before weren’t actually his imagination, after all. And they were much, much more threatening in real life, although no less beautiful.</p><p>Thanatos rises above the trees, huge black-feathered wings spread out behind him. Every beat of his wings makes the treetops rustle and shake, and he flies towards them with a speed that makes Tsukishima’s head spin. Still, he slides his backpack from his shoulders and pulls out his spear, standing ready with Kuroo and Bokuto at his sides.</p><p>When Thanatos lands, the ground beneath them shakes with the impact of his boots hitting the rock. Cerberus gives a low growl in the back of his throat, but he clearly recognizes Thanatos as his master, lowering his head and backing away from the battleground.</p><p>“Now, now. That wasn’t very nice, even for a son of that wretched Zeus.” </p><p>Thanatos’ voice holds a booming timbre that it didn’t before. From what Tsukishima can tell, he also looks like he’s grown about two feet taller, and the eyes that used to be an icy, piercing blue are now vast, empty black holes in the middle of his face. His true Divine Form is starting to bleed through his human shell.</p><p>If they even want to have a <i>chance</i> of beating him, they have to do it before he reaches that final form. They won’t even be able to look at him without bursting into flames at that point.</p><p>Tsukishima glances at Kuroo and Bokuto out of the corners of his eyes and sees in the determined looks on their faces that they’ve realized the same thing.</p><p>“It’s over, Thanatos,” Tsukishima says in a voice much braver than he feels. “Your plan failed, you told me yourself. Now that we know you were behind this, you won’t get away with it. And if you try to fight us, I can promise you it won’t go the way you plan.”</p><p>Thanatos’ teeth bare into a grin, and it’s a horrible sight; the combination of the bone-white teeth and the black holes for eyes. With a snap of his fingers, the dagger in his hand turns into a long, razor-sharp scythe.</p><p>“Is that so, little demigod?”</p><p>“Huh.” Okay, so Tsukishima hadn’t accounted for that.</p><p>“Why do you want to fight us, anyways?” Kuroo takes a slow step forward, not raising his weapon, but not holding it down either. “Why do you want any of this? Why did you let Cerberus out in the first place?”</p><p>“Really?” Thanatos laughs unkindly. “You want me to monologue right now? Trying to buy some time for your pretty boyfriend to run away, is that is?”</p><p>Kuroo shifts his stance so that Tsukishima is slightly behind him now, growling low. He doesn’t sound entirely unlike Cerberus, actually.</p><p>“No, I just want to understand before I kick your ass. Hades is my father, and you work with him. Why would you want to -"</p><p>“I work <i>for</i> him,” Thanatos hisses. The hair on the back of Tsukishima’s neck stands straight up as the temperature drops at least thirty degrees. “I don’t work ‘with’ Hades, I’m his lackey! His slave! I’ve been bringing souls to him for eons now, doing all of the dirty work for him, and what have I gotten for it?”</p><p>“Oh boy, here we go,” Bokuto mutters.</p><p>“Nothing!” The god explodes. “Not a raise, not a promotion, not even a ‘thank you!’ And those mortals,” he sneers. “Those foolish, unappreciative mortals have all but forgotten me. Do you know what happens to gods when they’re forgotten?”</p><p>
  <i>When gods are forgotten…</i>
</p><p>“They cease to exist,” Tsukishima breathes.</p><p>It’s rare, but it sometimes happens with the more ancient deities. They’re written out of modern retellings, replaced with more popular gods and spirits instead. Gods’ powers come directly from the belief and devotion that humans show them, and without it…</p><p>Thanatos is afraid to be forgotten.</p><p>“You wanted to sabotage Hades so you could take his place as God of the Underworld.” Tsukishima guesses.</p><p>The icy chill in the air grows even colder when Thanatos gives him a razor sharp grin.</p><p>“Oh, you pretty little fool. I’m not going to stop there.”</p><p>The word <i>fool</i> cuts a little more deeply than it probably should.</p><p>“And once I rule the Underworld,” Thanatos continues, his hollow eyes narrowing. “I’m going to make you two lovebirds watch as I skin the other alive and roast their insides over the eternal flames of Hell until the end of all time. Won’t that be a fun little honeymoon?”</p><p>It’s a dark promise, one that Tsukishima can tell he fully intends to keep. His heart drops to the floor and he reaches out blindly for Kuroo’s hand. Luckily, Kuroo is already reaching back for him, and their fingers lock together tightly.</p><p>Whatever happens next, they’re doing it together.</p><p>“I <i>won’t</i> let you hurt my friends!”</p><p>Bokuto lets out a roar that’s much more animal than it is human. Dark clouds begin to swirl overhead, and the air around them crackles with electricity. Tsukishima watches in disbelief as Bokuto Koutarou, son of Zeus, kindest and most gentle person he’s ever known, lights up with rage. Lightning seems to course through his very veins, and his eyes turn completely yellow, glowing eerily.</p><p>That is <i>not</i> what Tsukishima thought was going to happen next.</p><p>There’s no time to stop him. There’s <i>literally</i> no time to stop him, because one second Bokuto is standing right next to him, and then Tsukishima blinks - and he’s gone. Only the metallic clanging sound of metal weapons clashing make him turn to see that Bokuto is already fighting Thanatos, dual blades drawn.</p><p>“Did you know he could do that?” Tsukishima’s jaw drops.</p><p>“I don’t think <i>he</i> even knew he could do that.” Kuroo laughs in awe, tugging Tsukishima closer to his side.</p><p>Bokuto is nothing like he was when they fought the Nemean Lion. That was the first time Tsukishima had seen him fight to seriously attempt to injure another living thing, but he was fighting for survival, to protect. He didn’t really <i>want</i> to hurt the creature. Now, Bokuto was fighting with intent. With anger. He <i>wanted</i> to hurt Thanatos.</p><p>The Nemean Lion had been a danger to them, but Thanatos was a personal threat.</p><p>It’s terrifying and dazzling to watch the way they circle around each other, striking blows and colliding weapons faster than Tsukishima’s eyes can follow. Bokuto is practically unrecognizable with that animalistic snarl on his face, the murderous intent in his eyes.</p><p>Tsukishima is really, <i>really</i> glad he’s on their side.</p><p>Kuroo makes to go and join in the fight, but Tsukishima stops him with a hand around his arm. “Wait.”</p><p>“But?” Kuroo’s face screws up in a confused frown. “But Bokuto needs me, I can’t just let him do this alone.”</p><p>“Bokuto is doing just fine holding his own for now.” Tsukishima picks up his backpack and starts rifling through the contents, looking for one object in particular. “I need you to help me with something else.”</p><p>“Oho?” Kuroo’s eyes light up. “You have a plan, don’t you, Brainiac?”</p><p>“Yes, I do.” Tsukishima’s hand finally closes around the thing he’d been looking for and pulls it out of his bag, holding it up for Kuroo to see. “That’s why I have this.”</p><p>Kuroo blinks a few times, poking the object to see if it’s going to do anything more. It doesn’t.</p><p>“Um, are you sure about this? Where did you even get that?”</p><p>“I got it back at the gift shop,” Tsukishima shrugs, tossing it up in the air and catching it again. “I figured, Cerberus is a dog, right? So why shouldn’t this work?”</p><p>Kuroo stares at him for a moment longer, but Tsukishima doesn’t let his confidence crack. Finally, Kuroo’s lips spread into a wide, trusting grin.</p><p>“Alright, you mad genius. What do you need from me?”</p><p>Tsukishima explains his plan as hurriedly as he can, well aware of the sounds of the battle raging on behind them. Even though he hadn’t meant to, Bokuto had actually caused the perfect distraction that his plan depended on. He had started thinking of it when they were in Pennsylvania, and since then all the pieces just fell into place.</p><p>He watches closely as Bokuto and Thanatos continue to fight. Neither of them appear to be slowing down, but they’ve definitely gotten in a few hits each. Bokuto has a huge gash in one of his pant legs that’s stained dark red, and there are a few slices across Thanatos’ face that are dripping gold Ichor - the blood of the Gods. Tsukishima has heard of it before, but he never thought he would actually see it.</p><p>It’s so rare that the Gods bleed.</p><p>Bokuto might be the strongest demigod alive right now.</p><p>There - That’s the opening he’s been waiting for. Bokuto has Thanatos backed up against a tree, and it doesn’t look like he’s going to be letting him move any time soon.</p><p>“Hey, Cerberus!” Tsukishima thrusts his hand high in the air, holding the red rubber ball up clearly for the Hellhound to see. All three of his large heads swing around to look at Tsukishima with interest, three sets of ears perking up. <i>That’s a good boy.</i> “You want this? Huh boy, you wanna play fetch?”</p><p>The ground shakes as Cerberus jumps excitedly like a puppy, wagging his tail and knocking over a few trees in the process. Tsukishima winces. <i>Sorry, nymphs.</i></p><p>It’s not just Cerberus whose attention he has, though.</p><p>“What do you think you’re doing?” Thanatos hisses, but Bokuto has him pinned to the tree now with a sword pointed right at his throat.</p><p>Tsukishima shrugs, offering the god an innocent smile.</p><p>“Just playing a little game. Cerberus,” he turns back to the dog, who's still crouched and ready to pounce, tail thumping rhythmically. “Fetch!”</p><p>Tsukishima winds back his arm and throws the ball as hard as he possibly can, aiming right for the edge of the rocky cliff.</p><p>“Kuroo, now!”</p><p>Perfectly on cue, Kuroo holds his hands out in front of him, aiming for the same place Tsukishima had, forehead creased in concentration. Out of thin air, hovering right over the edge of the cliff, a glowing red tear appears in the atmosphere, stretching and opening wide until there’s a Hellhound-sized portal to the Underworld hanging over the Colorado Rockies.</p><p>The red rubber ball goes sailing cleanly through, and Cerberus chases obediently after it. With a grunt of exertion, Kuroo closes the portal back up, and any trace of the dog is gone. </p><p>Cerberus is finally home.</p><p>An unnerving silence settles over the clearing.</p><p>Thanatos stops struggling against Bokuto and goes still, vacant eyes trained on the now empty spot of air that Cerberus just disappeared through. Bokuto shoves him against the tree and takes a few steps back, wiping some blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand and raising his blades defensively. </p><p>The God of Death doesn’t attack.</p><p>Instead, he starts to laugh.</p><p>Wild, unhinged laughter that grates against Tsukishima’s senses and makes his skin break out in goosebumps.</p><p>“Oh, that was smart,” he gasps through his peals of laughter. He points a finger right at Tsukishima and grins dangerously. “I’m going to make you regret that.”</p><p>Bokuto’s entire body crackles with electricity and Kuroo raises his sword, the ground below them rumbling threateningly with the pounding of his undead army wanting to be released.</p><p>Thanatos raises his hands in the air in a sign of peace.</p><p>“I know how to pick and choose my battles. Our fight won’t be today, demigods. But I promise you,” he looks right at Tsukishima, “we’ll meet again one day.”</p><p>“And we’ll kick your ass again,” Bokuto promises.</p><p>“Next time, it won’t just be me.” Thanatos cracks a wicked smile. “You don’t really think that I’m the only minor god who feels this way, do you? I’m not in this alone. Olympus will fall, and so will anyone who sides with them. Mark my words.”</p><p>With a snap of his fingers, the God of Death is gone.</p><p>“Um.” Bokuto lowers his blades cautiously, looking around as if he expects Thanatos to jump out from behind a tree to kill them at any second. “So, is it over?”</p><p>Tsukishima opens his mouth to respond, but whatever words he was going to say next die in his throat as the ground below them begins to swirl with a smoky, dark whirlpool around their feet.</p><p>And then everything goes dark.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>It’s dark and the ground below him is rock hard, but whatever his face is pillowed in is soft and firm. Wherever he is, it smells like rotten eggs, but his pillow is warm and smells familiar, like the air after a fresh rainstorm, and he buries his nose in it further, groaning in discomfort.</p><p>“Hey.” A hand pats him on the head affectionately. “Welcome back to the land of the living. Or, well, uh…” Bokuto trails off with an awkward laugh. Tsukishima frowns and curls up on his side, ignoring the way the ground digs into his hip.</p><p>“What’re you talking ‘bout?” He slurs drowsily.</p><p>“You’re pretty out of it, huh? Man, you really don’t like Shadow Traveling.” Bokuto chuckles and the pleasant vibrations make Tsukishima want to fall right back asleep. He flings an arm across Bokuto’s lap to get more comfortable, but when he touches the boy’s other leg, he takes in a sharp, pained breath.</p><p>Tsukishima pulls his hand away, quickly sitting up when he remembers that Bokuto has been injured. There’s still blood staining his pants, and Tsukishima can just barely make out the tear in his flesh underneath.</p><p>“Shit, sorry, Bokuto. I forgot about -"</p><p>All of the memories of the past few days - the past few <i>hours</i> - suddenly come flooding back to him. </p><p>Colorado. Cerberus. Thanatos. The fight.</p><p>“What happened? Did - Did Thanatos come back? Is Cerberus okay? Did we -"</p><p>“Win?” Bokuto grins. “Yeah, Tsukki. We won. Cerberus is back where he’s supposed to be, and after Thanatos left, Hades Shadow Travelled us to the Underworld.”</p><p>“Oh,” Tsukishima breathes. “Thank Gods, we’re -" he stops. “We’re <i>where?”</i></p><p>For the first time since he woke up, Tsukishima takes a good look at his surroundings.</p><p>He doesn’t know what he expected the Underworld to look like. Honestly, he’s never pictured himself visiting before so he never bothered to think about it, but if anyone asked him, he probably would have said that it was all fire and brimstone, terrifying and covered in flames.</p><p>He would have been embarrassingly wrong.</p><p>The Underworld is dark, yes, but it’s also wide open and and cavernous, with almost an eerie blue glow to it. It’s beautiful. Clearly a palace made for a King, carved out of stone and precious minerals far beneath the surface of the Earth. There are twisting, spiraling pillars keeping the high ceiling from collapsing in on itself, and decorative arches with skulls are bones carved into them (or, they might actually be decorated with skulls and bones. Tsukishima does not want to know).</p><p>And there at the center of the highest arch, there’s a giant throne. Literally, giant. It would have to be to fit the ten-foot tall god sitting in it.</p><p>
  <i>Hades.</i>
</p><p>He isn’t in his full Divine Form, just appearing as his usual godly self instead of taking on a mortal form. His hair and beard and tunic are enveloped in - or rather, made of - jet black flames, and his eyes are the same pure, liquid gold color as Kuroo’s. He’s handsome, with broad shoulders and a sharp jaw, but stern looking as he strokes his fiery beard and considers the figure standing before him, little more than a speck standing at the foot of his throne.</p><p>Oh - It’s not a speck. It’s Kuroo.</p><p>“What are they doing?”</p><p>Bokuto shifts so he can put a reassuring arm around Tsukishima’s shoulders, and maybe so he can stop him if Tsukishima decides to do something reckless.</p><p>“Kuroo’s just telling him about everything that happened. Finding Thanatos, sending Cerberus home, and all that other good stuff.”</p><p>Tsukishima hums, settling back and observing.</p><p>“It’s kinda weird, isn’t it? Hades looks…”</p><p>“Just like Kuroo?” Bokuto finishes. Tsukishima winces involuntarily.</p><p>It isn’t like he hasn’t known all along that Kuroo was Hades’ son. He knew better than almost anyone else. But to see the striking resemblance between them with his own two eyes, it was chilling. Not because Tsukishima cared who Kuroo’s godly parent was, of course, but just because he had never seen a demigod and their godly parent together like this before.</p><p>He’s never seen a demigod and their godly parent look so much… Like family.</p><p>He himself looks just like his mortal father. He’s never seen Athena in person, but based on drawings and descriptions, he knows he looks nothing like her. He and his siblings don’t even look anything like each other, the same as most siblings at Camp Half Blood.</p><p>But when he looks at Hades and Kuroo together, he can see it plain as day. It wasn’t just his imagination all this time; Kuroo’s appearance truly is toeing the line of being completely and perfectly divine.</p><p>And Tsukishima is <i>dating</i> that. Will wonders never cease?</p><p>He really is best friends with two of the most impressive demigods the world has ever known.</p><p>“Bokuto,” Tsukishima takes him by the shoulders, suddenly overcome with gratitude, and forces the older boy to meet his eyes. “Thank you.”</p><p>Bokuto’s eyes widen. “What? Me? What for?”</p><p>“None of what happened back in Colorado would have been possible without you.” Bokuto opens his mouth to argue, but Tsukishima doesn’t give him the chance. “I had a plan, yes, but it was a reach and there were holes in it and you - <i>you</i> filled in all those holes. You’re the reason we were able to send Cerberus home, and you’re definitely the reason that the three of us are even still alive right now. You were unbelievable out there - you fought a <i>god</i> for us! You’re incredible, Bokuto.”</p><p>“Ah,” Bokuto’s cheeks turn pink. “You don’t have to say all that, Tsukki! I’m sure you and Kuroo would’ve figured out -"</p><p>“We’d be dead,” Tsukishima cuts him off. “Bokuto, the two of us would literally be dead without you, so just stop being so painfully humble for like, two seconds, and let me thank you, okay?”</p><p>Bokuto nods, but still looks uncomfortable with the praise. It’s almost comical, comparing the Bokuto sitting in front of him now to the absolute monster he saw in battle not long ago. Shy and bashful, rather than murderously enraged.</p><p>“I don’t really know what happened out there, honestly,” he admits. “I’ve never…felt like that in a fight before. That strong, or - or motivated, I guess? But when Thanatos threatened you two, I just, I dunno. I lost it.”</p><p>Tsukishima shifts so that Bokuto’s arm falls from his shoulders and takes the other boy’s hand in both of his, making sure that he listens to his next words very carefully.</p><p>“That’s because you’re not a warrior, Bokuto. You don’t fight just to win battles. You’re a protector.” Bokuto’s eyes open a little wider. “You fight to protect the people you care about, and that’s what makes you the strongest. That drive to keep others safe.”</p><p>“You - You think so?” Bokuto blinks at him owlishly.</p><p>“Yeah. Yeah, I do,” Tsukishima says firmly. “And I think that whatever you came on this quest to prove to whoever you needed to prove it to, you did it. A hundred times over, you’ve proven yourself.”</p><p>Like a gentle summer drizzle, tears pool in the corners of Bokuto’s eyes and fall down his cheeks. Tsukishima doesn’t think about it too much, just reacts like he’s a little kid again and throws his arms around Bokuto’s neck, burying his face in his shoulder. Bokuto wraps his arms around Tsukishima’s back tight enough to hurt, but he doesn’t complain. Not even a little bit.</p><p>“Thank you,” he whispers again. Bokuto accepts it this time.</p><p>Someone clears their throat, and it’s not hard to guess who it is when it’s powerful enough to make the ground rumble.</p><p>“Good, you’re finally awake.” Hades gestures them closer with a wave of his hand. “Come. I want to hear what happened from the two of you.”</p><p>Tsukishima isn’t one to disobey a direct order from the God of the Underworld, so he quickly stands, only realizing when Bokuto doesn’t immediately follow that he needs help getting to his feet. He puts one of Bokuto’s arms over his shoulders and tries to help lift him to his feet, staggering slightly under the other boy’s dense weight.</p><p>Hades sighs impatiently.</p><p>“Alright, let’t hurry this along.”</p><p>Slowly, Bokuto’s weight eases off of Tsukishima’s shoulders. Steeling his stomach for a second glance, Tsukishima looks curiously down at his injured leg and - nothing.</p><p>His shorts are still stained a deep red, but the skin underneath is perfectly unblemished, like Thanatos’ scythe had never touched him at all.</p><p>“Woah,” Bokuto breathes.</p><p>Curious, Tsukishima gently prods at the skin of his neck, and finds not a single cut or scratch left on him, either.</p><p>Hades looks impossibly larger when standing up close to him, but also strangely…kinder? He doesn’t give off the same bone-chilling kind of aura that Thanatos did, and even though his expression doesn’t crack into anything even resembling a smile, it’s hard to look into his eyes and not feel oddly at ease. </p><p>Maybe it was because he reminded Tsukishima so much of Kuroo, or maybe just because they both had similarly kind eyes. <i>Or maybe it’s the aura of being dead.</i> Either way, he doesn’t feel the slightest bit nervous as he tells Hades his story, or even when Bokuto takes his turn, and Kuroo none-too-sneakily intertwines their hands together, and Hades’ eyes flicker over to follow the movement. His expression still doesn’t change, and Tsukishima doesn’t think he could let go of Kuroo now even if the God of the Underworld himself commanded it.</p><p>“And, uh, yeah,” Bokuto finishes with a shrug. “Then we came here, and that was pretty much it.”</p><p>“What did Thanatos mean?” Tsukishima asks, surprising himself with his boldness, speaking to a god without being asked to. He’s not really sure how the politics of this all works. He’s really never been good with adults. “When he said that he wasn’t the only god who resented the Olympians, what did he mean?”</p><p>Hades eyes narrow and he heaves a tired sigh that only comes from millennia of troubles.</p><p>“It’s been this way since the beginning of time. The minor gods have always tried to start wars with us, to take power that doesn't belong to them and overthrow my family and I.”</p><p>“War?” Kuroo repeats faintly. “You think Thanatos wants to start a - a war? Between the gods?”</p><p>Tsukishima squeezes his hand, but not for Kuroo’s sake. For his own.</p><p>A war between the gods could be cataclysmic. A world-ending, population-wiping, disaster.</p><p>“It’s hard to tell, just based off of what he told you,” Hades admits. “But he could be working up to one. Gathering supporters and building an army. He’ll have to keep coming in and out of the Underworld to deliver souls, so I’ll keep an eye on him the best I can, but the three of you should return to camp now. Quickly. Tell Chiron what you’ve told me, and he’ll know what to do. I wish I could help you more, but I’ll have my hands full as it is.”</p><p>“Actually,” Tsukishima raises a finger. “There is one more thing you could do for us.”</p><p>Hades looks at him expectantly and Kuroo’s eyes widen in panic when he realizes what Tsukishima is about to do.</p><p>“No, no there isn’t! It’s okay, really, you don’t have to do anything else for us.”</p><p>Tsukishima give him an incredulous look. “Are you serious? The whole reason I came on this stupid quest with you was to get you to this very moment.”</p><p>“Tsukki, please, let’s not bother my da - uh, Hades, any more. Okay?”</p><p>His eyes are pleading, and Tsukishima doesn’t understand it. Why suddenly, when faced with Hades himself, Kuroo is so unsure of himself.</p><p>But, oh. Hades is more than just the God of the Underworld to Kuroo. He’s his father who he’s just meeting now for the first time. He’s probably afraid to overstep any boundaries, to make things awkward between them when they’ve only just met. Fragile family relations, and all.</p><p>Well. Fuck that.</p><p>“Five minutes.”</p><p>Hades frowns. “What?”</p><p>“Five minutes,” Tsukishima repeats. “Kuroo is your son - your <i>only</i> son - and he just risked his life to bring Cerberus back to the Underworld because <i>you</i> asked him to. The least you could do after bringing us all the way here is give him just five minutes with his mom and sister.”</p><p>Hades quirks a fiery brow, breaking his stern expression for the first time.</p><p>“The least I could do? Is that so?”</p><p>“He didn’t - He didn’t mean that!” Kuroo says quickly. “Right, Tsukki?” He squeezes Tsukishima’s hand desperately. Tsukishima shakes him off and takes a step closer to Hades’ throne.</p><p>“Kuroo has been through more shit in his eighteen years of living than anyone should ever have to in their entire lives, and for him to still turn out this <i>good?</i> Yeah, I think he deserves at least a chance to say goodbye to his family.”</p><p>Kuroo sucks in a sharp breath and doesn’t let it out again. </p><p>“Dude, your boyfriend is crazy,” Bokuto whispers behind him, but Tsukishima doesn’t break Hades’ gaze. His face doesn’t change at all, but slowly he lifts a hand and snaps his fingers sharply. At the foot of his throne, the air shifts into a wide, round opening. Just beyond it, Tsukishima can see rolling hills of flowers bathed in sunlight and the sweet chirping of birds. It looks so enticing and peaceful, he almost goes through it himself, but manages to hold back.</p><p>“Through there,” Hades says, as if he couldn’t care less. Tsukishima gets the feeling that isn’t true. “In the Fields of Asphodel. They’ll be waiting for you.”</p><p>The breath Kuroo had been holding leaves him all in a rush. He doesn’t move from the spot he’s standing in.</p><p>“Five minutes, and not a second longer,” Hades warns. Tsukishima prods Kuroo in the back, nudging him towards the opening.</p><p>“Go,” he whispers.</p><p>“I -" Kuroo laughs. “I think I’m nervous?”</p><p>“Don’t be.” Tsukishima says, squeezing Kuroo’s hand reassuringly. “They’re your family and they love you, and you’ve done nothing but a million things to make them proud since the last time you saw them. It’s okay, Tetsurou. You can have this,” he finishes in a whisper.</p><p>Kuroo takes another slow, deep breath.</p><p>“I love you, Kei,” he says, knocking their foreheads together gently before turning and disappearing into the rift. It closes behind him and Tsukishima can’t stop the way he smiles or the overwhelmed tears that come next.</p><p>He did it.</p><p><i>They</i> did it.</p><p>He’s so - so happy. Happier than anyone in the world had any right to be. It’s all-consuming and terrifying and the world is potentially going to end in flames soon, but Tsukishima is <i>happy</i> because he was able to help get Kuroo the one thing he’s wanted more than anything since the day Tsukishima met him. He was able to give Kuroo the chance to feel whole again.</p><p>“I have a feeling,” Hades says and Tsukishima startles. He had almost forgotten that anyone else was there. “The reason why Tetsurou turned out so good is because of you. It certainly wasn’t because of me.” He casts his eyes away, and Tsukishima can see the pain behind them.</p><p>“All I did was shake his hand,” he says honestly.</p><p>“I suppose I have you to thank for him becoming a hero, too?” Hades raises an accusatory eyebrow.</p><p>“Is that really such a terrible thing?” Tsukishima challenges.</p><p>Hades hums thoughtfully. “Only time will tell, I suppose. I always knew that bringing him to Camp Half Blood was the best thing for him, but…” Hades trails off, giving Tsukishima a - a smile? Holy Hades, he was <i>smiling?</i> “But never once did I expect you, Tsukishima Kei. Thank you for taking such good care of him.”</p><p>Bokuto pats him on the back enthusiastically as more tears fall freely down Tsukishima’s face.</p><p>This is more than happiness now. It’s relief. So, so much relief.</p><p>“I would do anything for him.”</p><p>Hades’ smile grows sad.</p><p>“And you will, son of Athena. You will.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Are you sure this is gonna work?”</p><p>Tsukishima sighs and throws another pair of knock-off Ray Bans into the fire. </p><p>“He’s a god, I’m not <i>sure</i> of anything, but he’s been known to help demigods in the past, and it’s the only line of the prophecy left that we haven’t figured out yet. It’s worth a shot.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Kuroo frowns, adding a Josh Groban CD to the fire. “But the line is, <i>‘Call on the brightest of gods, but don’t hold your breath.’</i> He might not even come, and then we’ll have wasted an entire night that we could have been traveling. Or, you could always just let me -"</p><p>Tsukishima points a warning finger in his face. “No more Shadow Travel for you. Or for me.” Kuroo sighs and throws his hands up in defeat.</p><p>“Okay, fine, whatever. But I’m telling you, I feel fine now. Being in the Underworld, it like… Healed me? Especially being in the Fields of Asphodel. I’ve honestly never felt better.” Kuroo grins brightly and Tsukishima wants to hold onto the vision of him like this forever.</p><p>He’s looks so much younger, so much lighter now. So much freer, after seeing his mom and sister again. After finally saying goodbye. He was finally finished now, a completely puzzle with every piece exactly where it belongs.</p><p>When his five minutes were up and Hades summoned Kuroo back from Fields of Asphodel, Tsukishima got a brief glimpse behind him before the portal closed, of two women. Beautiful dark hair, and devastating smiles that promised trouble, with tears glittering in their eyes.</p><p>Kuroo looked much the same as them. Exactly the same, actually, all the way down to the tears in his eyes, and when he threw his arms around Tsukishima just as the portal was slipping shut, Tsukishima could have sworn he saw the two women waving at him.</p><p>It might have been a trick of his imagination, though.</p><p>Hades offered to Shadow Travel them back to Camp Half Blood, but Tsukishima wasn’t sure his stomach could take it again without passing out, so instead he just had a skeleton minion escort them by foot back up to the surface.</p><p>Getting back to Camp Half Blood and talking to Chiron as soon as possible was still a priority though, and Tsukishima had one more idea left in him before he needed to take the world’s longest nap. They stopped at the nearest tourist shop and picked up a few materials for an offering to the ‘brightest of gods’.</p><p>“What now?” Bokuto asks, crossing his legs and peering into the fire.</p><p>“Now,” Tsukishima says, laying his head on Kuroo’s shoulder and getting comfortable. “We wait for the sun to rise.”</p><p>Evidently, he gets a little too comfortable. He doesn’t remember when he fell asleep, but he wakes up to someone poking him gently in the cheek.</p><p>“Tsukki?”</p><p>Tsukishima groans and picks his head up from Kuroo’s shoulder, rolling out the crick in his neck.</p><p>“Yeah, what’s up?” He squeezes his eyes shut against the sunlight.</p><p>“It, uh. It worked.”</p><p>“What worked?” Tsukishima cracks one eye open, and immediately regrets it.</p><p>The sun isn’t actually up yet, the man - the <i>god</i> - standing before him is just the brightest thing he’s ever seen in his life.</p><p>“Apollo,” Tsukishima gasps, jaw falling open for more reasons than one.</p><p>Apollo is - not to sound like a total cliché or anything - but Apollo is <i>hot.</i> Tall and chiseled as a stone statue, skin tan and glowing like newly polished copper. Flowing blonde hair and a smile that belongs on a commercial for toothpaste. He’s only wearing a plain white t-shirt, floral printed board shorts, and flip flops, but he still looks like he’s easily the most gorgeous California surfer boy of all time.</p><p>And then, the God of the Sun and Light, and countless other things ranging from music and the arts, to healing and medicine, opens his mouth and shatters the entire illusion.</p><p>“Woah, look at this trio!” He beams, giving them all careful once-overs. “Am I in the Field of Asphodel right now? Because this looks like paradise to me!”</p><p>“Um?” Tsukishima shares a confused look with Kuroo and Bokuto.</p><p>“I mean, really!” The god continues obliviously. “You have a boy for every taste here!” He gestures to Tsukishima first, and it takes everything in his power not to give the god his iciest glare. “You got your nerdy, pretty boy -"</p><p>“Why does everyone keep <i>calling</i> me that?”</p><p>Kuroo snickers. “You’re pretty, babe, get over it.”</p><p>“And you!” Apollo points at Kuroo, who blinks back at him. “The mysterious and ruggedly handsome, bad boy type.”</p><p>“Bad boy?” Kuroo gawks.</p><p>“He’s clearly never heard your ‘In My Feelings’ playlist,” Tsukishima snickers.</p><p>“And finally!” Apollo ignores them. “My personal favorite, the classic, muscular jock type.” He sidles up to Bokuto with lowered lashes and a sultry grin, poking at his defined biceps. “Hi there, how’s it going?”</p><p>“Uhhh,” Bokuto’s face turns a very interesting shade of scarlet. “Sorry, I’m kinda spoken for already. Or, well, I don’t know if I speak for him, but he definitely speaks for me. So. Uh. Sorry.”</p><p>Apollo pouts, but mercifully steps away from the son of Zeus.</p><p>“Typical,” he whines. “All the good heroes are always taken young!” Suddenly, his whole demeanor changes, getting serious. “Alright, demigods. What can I do ya for?”</p><p>“We need a ride,” Tsukishima says. “Back to Camp Half Blood. We have to warn Chiron and the others about the war.”</p><p>Apollo hums, making the same beard-stroking gesture that Hades did, but without the actual beard.</p><p>“Sorry, kids. The Sun Chariot only goes one way,” he points towards the West. “And Camp Half Blood is in New York, which is that way.” He points in the opposite direction to the East.</p><p>Tsukishima’s heart sinks.</p><p>“Can’t you make an exception just this once? It’s kind of urgent?” Bokuto tries. Apollo gives them all an unimpressed look. Apparently, he’d quickly forgotten how attractive he found them only moments ago.</p><p>“Can’t I just make the sun rise backwards? Just this once?” He repeats sarcastically.</p><p>“Oh.” Bokuto looks down at his feet. “Right.”</p><p>That’s it, then. Tsukishima lets his head drop back onto Kuroo’s shoulder, defeated.</p><p>He’s all out of ideas.</p><p>Apollo sighs heavily. “Jeez, do you have to sit there looking so pathetic about it? You guys are lucky, okay? This is a one time only offer, because I may or may not have a little soft spot for you half bloods. Follow me.”</p><p>Tsukishima, Kuroo, and Bokuto quickly gather their belongings and scramble to their feet, stamping out their half-assed sacrificial fire and following Apollo around the back of the building.</p><p>There, sitting in the parking lot, is the nicest and shiniest red car Tsukishima has ever seen. Like the convertible they drove to Virginia in, only a thousand times more expensive looking. And it was literally <i>glowing.</i></p><p>“That’s Apollo’s Sun Chariot,” Tsukishima dumbly informs Kuroo, who doesn’t even respond, just nods back equally as dumb and stares.</p><p>“Well?” Apollo demands, throwing open the driver’s door and climbing in. “Let’s go, the ‘Around the World with Apollo’ ride departs in ten seconds, with or without all of your limbs aboard.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p>Tsukishima tries to stay awake through the night so he can see as much of the world as possible flashing by below them from out of the car’s window, but he drifts off somewhere around Alaska, and doesn’t come to again until they’re passing over the Eiffel Tower.</p><p>“Tsukki!” Bokuto says happily when Tsukishima finally lifts his head off of his shoulder. Bokuto had begged Tsukishima to take the front seat so he didn’t have to deal with Apollo hitting on him all night, but Kuroo had stubbornly taken the seat before Tsukishima could, so he sat in the back with Bokuto instead. “You missed the pit stop in Tokyo.” He holds up a stick with skewered meat on it. “We picked you up some yakitori.”</p><p>“Hm. Thanks.” Tsukishima accepts the street food and inspects in carefully before his stomach grumbles irritatedly and he takes a bite. It’s good. It’s <i>really</i> good.</p><p>“Ah, good. Since you’re awake now…” Apollo meets Tsukishima’s eyes in the rearview mirror, looking like he already regrets what he’s going to say next. “I don’t really think there’s a way to go about this that won’t be terribly awkward for everyone involved.”</p><p>“What?” Tsukishima narrows his eyes suspiciously.</p><p>“I have a message for you.”</p><p>“For me?” Tsukishima asks. “From who?”</p><p>“Your mom.”</p><p>He’s not sure if it’s himself of Bokuto that he hears take in a deep gasp of air. Kuroo turns around in his seat, looking at Tsukishima with concern.</p><p>Tsukishima takes a deep breath, steeling his nerves. This is the first “direct” contact that he’s ever had with Athena. Sugawara has actually <i>met</i> her before, and been given a gift by her, and even Akaashi said she visited him in a dream once. Suna has heard her voice in his head during a life-or-death battle, and Tsukishima…has gotten radio silence. It never bothered him. Not really. But he can’t deny, he’s interested and more than a little nervous about what his godly mother has to say to him.</p><p>“What is it?”</p><p>Apollo shifts uncomfortably. “Well, it was something along the lines of - Bear with me, I’m paraphrasing here.” </p><p>The next time he speaks, his voice comes out sounding exactly like that of a woman’s. <i>Athena.</i> </p><p>
  <i>“No son of mine would ever be ignorant enough to get himself involved with a hero. Not just one, but <i>two</i> heroes. All they’ll ever do to those who love them is drain them like leeches, bleed them dry for their own cause, and then leave them. Either abandon them by choice, or die when you need them most. And you can tell your fool brother it’s the same for him.”</i>
</p><p>The god clears his throat awkwardly when the message is finished, voice returning back to normal. “Uh, yeah, so that was about it. Anybody have a preference for the radio station?”</p><p>There’s a dull, distant roaring sound in Tsukishima’s ears, like’s he’s standing directly under a waterfall. He’s aware of Kuroo and Bokuto’s unhappy faces, and Apollo turning the radio dial in a desperate attempt to dispel the tense atmosphere, but he can’t focus on any of it.</p><p>All he can see and hear and feel is - is - anger. A blind, red-tinged, indignant rage.</p><p>But not on his behalf, no. He’s angry for Kuroo, and Bokuto, and Akaashi. How dare - how <i>dare</i> Athena talk about his friends like that? Accuse the people he loves the most of being such terrible people? Calling <i>Akaashi</i> who has never tried to do anything but please their ungrateful mother a <i>fool</i> just because he loves a hero?</p><p>
  <i>A hero.</i>
</p><p>“Why is everyone so obsessed with heroes?” Tsukishima seethes. The rest of the car goes deathly quiet. “All anyone talks about lately is who’s a hero and who’s not a hero, and what a hero should do and what they shouldn’t. Who should be a hero, and who shouldn’t. My mother,” he says very slowly and deliberately, “is wrong.”</p><p>Apollo lets out a small, scandalized gasp.</p><p>“She’s wrong about me, and she’s wrong about Kuroo and Bokuto and Akaashi, and she’s wrong about <i>heroes!</i> If she thinks someone who would abandon the people they love and just - just <i>use</i> them is a hero, then she has no idea what she’s talking about!” Tsukishima looks at Kuroo and Bokuto and thinks of all the things that make them the most amazing people he knows. “A hero is someone who is strong and kind and - and selfless. Anybody who would do those things to the people that care about them isn’t a hero at all!”</p><p>Getting it all off his chest feels good, makes the rage dissipate and his heart feel lighter. He won’t be winning and Son of the Year awards any time soon, but, well. He was never really anyone’s favorite child.</p><p>Apollo grins crookedly. “If that’s the definition of ‘hero’, we’d have to basically rewrite all of Ancient Greek history.”</p><p>“Maybe somebody should.”</p><p>“Yeah… Maybe somebody should.” Apollo winks at Tsukishima in the rearview mirror and turns the radio up.</p><p>Kuroo smiles proudly at him and squeezes his knee before turning back around in his seat, mumbling something about ‘car sickness.’ Bokuto stares out the window and doesn’t say anything for a long time.</p><p>The Atlantic Ocean seems to stretch on below them forever, even though it’ll only take them a few hours at most to cross it. At some point, Kuroo falls asleep with his head against the window, and Apollo is singing along to the song on the radio under his breath, finger-drumming on the steering wheel.</p><p>“That was nice… What you said earlier.” Bokuto says it quietly, so that only Tsukishima can hear him. His brows are furrowed and he looks conflicted. Tsukishima shifts in his seat to face him more fully.</p><p>“That’s why Akaashi told you he wanted to wait, right?” Tsukishima asks gently. Bokuto’s eyes snap up to meet his. “He always knew, just like the rest of us, that you were meant to be a hero. He wanted to make sure you weren’t going to be the kind of hero that would die on him.” Bokuto inhales sharply, eyes suddenly filled with pain.</p><p>“I would never - I would <i>never</i> want to hurt Akaashi like that. I never want to leave him.”</p><p>Tsukishima grins. “Yeah, I know that. He does, too, I’m pretty sure. I think maybe he was just scared.”</p><p>“I’ll protect him from it,” Bokuto promises. “Whatever he’s scared of, I won’t let it hurt him.”</p><p>“It’s you, Bokuto.”</p><p>The son of Zeus’ face goes blank.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“He’s scared of how much he loves you,” Tsukishima explains. “He can’t control it and there’s no logic to it. He can’t stop it from hurting him if anything ever happened to you. He’s scared of <i>you.”</i></p><p>It was harder for him to see when he was younger, but now that he’s felt the same thing, it makes all the sense in the world to him. He understands Akaashi in a way he never has before.</p><p>“Oh.” Bokuto’s eyebrows draw together. “I can’t - I can’t protect him from that.” He hangs his head. Tsukishima pats him on the shoulder.</p><p>“No, you can’t. But Akaashi is braver than I think he even realizes he is. And what he feels for you…” Tsukishima glances at the reflection of Kuroo’s peacefully sleeping face in the window and grins. “It’s stronger than the fear. He won’t be able to fight it forever.”</p><p>“You think so?” Bokuto’s face lights up. “I mean, I would never want to, like, force him or pressure him into anything…”</p><p>“I don’t think you could make him do anything he didn’t want to if you tried.”</p><p>“That’s very true.” Bokuto’s brows furrow again. “Are you… Are you gonna tell him what your mom said?”</p><p>Tsukishima shrugs. “Nope. I don’t see any reason to needlessly cause him pain.”</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>“Athena isn’t afraid to play favorites, and we’ve all known since we were kids that Sugawara was her favorite child. The rest of us were never that bothered by it since it’s not like any of us were close to her or anything, but… Akaashi especially has always wanted to please our mother.”</p><p>“Your mom kinda sucks.”</p><p>“No kidding,” Tsukishima scoffs. “But no matter how much he wants to please her, I know that he would choose you over Athena any day. There’s no sense in telling him if all it’s gonna do is force him to realize that he’s disappointing her. I’m not going to let the gods have any more control over the people I love than they already do.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Alright kiddos, this is your stop!”</p><p>The Sun Chariot makes a swift, almost dangerous descent back to the ground, somewhere just outside of New York City. Tsukishima clutches his seatbelt like a lifeline while Apollo just laughs like a madman. The gods are truly terrifying.</p><p>“Couldn’t you have taken us right to camp?” Tsukishima grumbles, stepping out of the car and sighing in relief when he finally stretches out his legs.</p><p>“No can do.” Apollo shakes his head. “A god at Camp Half Blood draws a lot of attention, and then I’d get caught up talking with my kids, and it would be a whole fanfare. I don’t have time for that. I gotta get back up to Olympus to help with the war preparations.”</p><p>Tsukishima freezes with his arm stretched out across his body.</p><p>“Wait a minute, are you telling me the Gods of Olympus already know about all of this?”</p><p>Apollo shifts his weight on his feet, running his hand through his long, blonde hair.</p><p>“Oh, yeah, things have been stirring up for a while now. There’s sort of a…disconnect between Olympus and the Underworld, so we didn’t know about Thanatos, but for months now we’ve felt it starting.”</p><p>“Why haven't they said anything about it?” Tsukishima demands.</p><p>Apollo shrugs. “The gods are embarrassed, I guess. Zeus has almost no control over the Anemoi lately, and with the wind gods acting out however they want, an unprecedented amounts of plane crashes and ships being lost at sea have been happening lately.” Apollo scoffs. “Just what I would expect from that pompous jerk, Zephyrus. Everyone always thinks, ‘Oh the god of the West winds must be so nice, he helped Ulysses guide his ship home, blah blah blah’! Total crap. He’s a complete jerk.”</p><p>“I didn’t know there were gods that even Zeus can’t control.” Bokuto crosses his arms and looks thoughtfully towards the sky, as if realizing for the first time that his dad isn’t as perfect and all-powerful as he was made to believe. Tsukishima can relate to the feeling, having personally just realized that his all-knowing mother doesn’t know shit.</p><p>“The Anemoi are as flighty as the winds they control. Slippery, too. Impossible to catch.”</p><p>“So Thanatos and the Anemoi are working together?” Kuroo clarifies.</p><p>“Oh, no.” Apollo shakes his head. “That’s not all.”</p><p>“Oh, awesome.” Bokuto sighs.</p><p>“Hm, let’s see.” The god taps his chin. “There’s also the trouble in the sea. Poseidon has been trying to keep things under control, but we’re pretty sure that hot-head is only making things worse. We all know how moody he can be when he feels like his ego is under attack. Leave it to Thetis to rock the boat just a little too hard.”</p><p>“Thetis?” Tsukishima repeats. “You mean Achilles’ mother?”</p><p>“Yes, yes.” Apollo huffs. “She thinks just because she birthed one of the greatest heroes in all of history that she has some kind of free pass to act like a bitch twenty-four-seven. Oh, and then there are the terrible nightmares we’ve all been having.”</p><p>“Hypnos?” Kuroo sounds surprised. Tsukishima doesn’t blame him, Hypnos is a minor god, but he's always been celebrated. Even has his own cabin at Camp Half Blood. It’s hard to imagine the father of kids as apathetic as Kenma and Kunimi wanting to start a war.</p><p>“Nah, his son.” Apollo corrects, face grim. “Morpheus. No one’s really that surprised that he sided against us, though. He’s being trying to take down Olympus since he sided with the Titans all those millennia ago. Ah well, family drama. What can you do?”</p><p>“You can stop it?” Tsukishima suggests.</p><p>Apollo shakes his head as he climbs back into the driver’s seat of the Sun Chariot.</p><p>“As if Ares would let us pass up such a golden opportunity for destruction and bloodshed.” He smiles sympathetically at them. “Sorry, guys. There’s not much Olympus can do to help you at this point. We’re holding them back the best we can, but in a few months, maybe a year’s time…” He trails off and meets Tsukishima’s eyes. “I really do hope I get to read your version of history one day, kid. Good luck.”</p><p>He leaves them with those final words of encouragement and the smell of burning rubber.</p><p>The news they’ve just received is grim, at best. The world as they know it might descend into chaos and cease to exist, and the gods - their <i>parents</i> - aren’t going to do a damn thing to help them.</p><p>And still, when Kuroo links their pinkies together and Bokuto heaves a long, labored sigh at the sky, he’s not afraid of the future at all. In fact, he’d actually prefer that things were in their hands, rather than the gods.</p><p>Who was going to look out for the world they lived in better than they were?</p><p>“Guess we better get back and warn camp about what’s happening,” Kuroo says finally. He taps his chin and spins in a circle. “Do either of you know which way camp is?”</p><p>Tsukishima huffs and tugs him along by the long sleeve of his t-shirt. “This way, Death Boy.” He points up at the nearest street sign. “New York City is a grid system, and Camp Half Blood is in upper New York, which means that North is this way.”</p><p>Kuroo takes his hand and plants a smacking kiss to the back of it, grinning like the world will never end.</p><p>“I have the smartest boyfriend in the whole world, I think.”</p><p>Tsukishima blushes and ignores Bokuto’s obnoxious kissy sounds.</p><p>“Well, one of us has to make up for your lack of brain cells.”</p><p>“Ouch!” Kuroo clutches at his chest dramatically. “A curse on my heart, Tsukishima Kei, that’s what you are. Cursed to love you no matter how much you may hurt me.”</p><p>“I’m really gonna hurt you if you don't pick up the pace. As soon as we get back to camp, I’m taking the longest, hottest shower of all time.”</p><p>“Oooh, count me in!” Kuroo pinches his side teasingly.</p><p>“Woah!” Bokuto suddenly exclaims, and it’s the only thing that keeps Tsukishima from punching Kuroo. “Look at these flowers. I’ve never seen anything like them!”</p><p>The flowers in question are blooming from a crack in the pavement, a bright, fiery fuchsia color around the outer edges of the petals and white in the center. They’re clearly out of place in the middle of an urban climate, but no one else walking by pays them any attention. Bokuto crouches next to it and pokes one of the flowers gently.</p><p>“I have,” Tsukishima realizes slowly. “I’ve seen these flowers before. Yamaguchi showed them to me.”</p><p>“Really?” Kuroo crouches next to Bokuto and looks at the flowers with his head cocked to the side. “They don’t look like they belong in New York.”</p><p>“That’s because they don’t.” The wheels in Tsukishima’s brain start spinning. He’s running on fumes at this point, starving and exhausted, but he can’t let this go… He can’t, because -"That’s a desert rose. It only grows in the Sahel regions, south of the Sahara Desert, and in eastern and southern Africa and Arabia. It’s literally impossible for a flower like this to grow and survive in New York.”</p><p>“Then how how have you seen one before?” Kuroo asks.</p><p>“Because it’s only impossible unless you’re a child of Demeter.”</p><p>Kuroo’s head snaps up, eyes wide in understanding.</p><p>“Look!” Bokuto shouts, jumping to his feet and pointing at a spot on the sidewalk ahead of them. “There are more over there!”</p><p>They follow the flowers for the next three blocks, until they reach a huge bushel of them, sitting right on top of a manhole. Tsukishima steps aside and lets Bokuto and Kuroo do the heavy lifting, each picking up one side of the metal cover and inching it further and further until it’s completely off. Tsukishima peers his head over the side of the hole and gasps.</p><p>Sitting just underneath the opening, huddled together and covered in dirt and grime, but still obviously recognizable are Yaku, Ushijima, and Aone. The campers from the missing quest, all alive and in one piece.</p><p>“Hey!” Tsukishima shouts. Three heads snap up and their startled gazes meet his. He smirks and locks eyes with Ushijima. “Tendou says you’re late for your lunch appointment.”</p><p>Ushijima’s strong brow scrunches up, lips turning down at the corners.</p><p>“Has he been waiting for me?”</p><p>“Yeah,” Tsukishima laughs. “Everyone kinda has.”</p><p>Ushijima’s frown gets deeper.</p><p>“I do hate being tardy.”</p><p>“We know you do, big guy.” Kuroo comes up behind Tsukishima, putting one hand on his shoulder and the other in his pocket. “So why don’t you guys climb on out of there so we can all finally go home?”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>As they make their way back to Camp Half Blood, Yaku, Ushijima, and Aone tell them their story.</p><p>Well, Yaku tells them. Ushijima jumps in a few times to correct his facts, and Aone doesn’t say anything at all, per usual, but they manage to get the gist of it.</p><p>The manhole that the flowers led to was an entrance to the Labyrinth - a giant, underground maze that was originally built under the island of Crete. However, when Olympus moved West, the Labyrinth followed, and now stretches out with tunnels all across the United States. The Labyrinth wasn’t just a maze though, it was <i>alive,</i> constantly shifting and changing, making it impossible to find your way out once you were trapped inside of it. The entrances were always moving, too, which is why Ushijima kept making the flowers grow above them, so that no matter where they went, the flowers would still follow them on the surface and hopefully lead to their rescue.</p><p>It was just a lucky coincidence (no, Tsukishima will not let the Fates take credit for this) that they happened to be dropped of by Apollo right in that exact spot.</p><p>The three of them were all genuinely surprised when they climbed out and realized that after all that time, they were somehow still in New York, only a few miles from Camp. They had been wandering the maze for weeks straight, but the Labyrinth didn’t exactly follow the laws of physics. One day they could have been in Idaho, and two hours later they could have circled all the way back to New York.</p><p>“Good thing you found us when you did. Those two were definitely planning on eating me first.” Yaku glares suspiciously at the two much larger men.</p><p>“That would be illogical,” Ushijima says very seriously. “You’re the smallest, and thus would provide the least nutritional value.”</p><p>“You thought about it!” Yaku accuses.</p><p>Luckily, before the topic of cannibalism can go much further, the tall pine tree marking the perimeter around Camp Half Blood becomes visible in the distance.</p><p>Tsukishima can’t help but smile at the sight, feeling his heartstrings tugging, yearning.</p><p>
  <i>Home.</i>
</p><p>Kuroo squeezes his hand and grins, but he can’t seem to take his eyes off of camp either. Tsukishima realizes that no matter where Kuroo actually spent more time living, Camp Half Blood was just as much home to him, too. It was the first place he felt he belonged after what happened to his family. It was the first place to accept him, all broken and sharp-edged as he was.</p><p>Some campers must have been keeping watch from the top of Half Blood Hill, maybe looking out for the missing quest finally returning home, or maybe scouting out potential threats if Chiron had sensed the growing danger in the air, because when the six of them entered camp, dozens of kids are already there waiting for them.</p><p>And - here’s the craziest part - when they see them coming, everyone starts to clap and cheer, like a village welcoming their heroes home from war. </p><p>Tsukishima looks around incredulously, instinctively trying to fall to the back of the crowd and avoid all the attention. Kuroo and Bokuto both have face-splitting grins, practically glowing in the early morning light, looking perfectly in their element. <i>Figures,</i> Tsukishima thinks, but can’t help but feel fondness for them flooding his chest. The two of them deserve this more than anyone else.</p><p>“Wakatoshi!” A voice hidden among the mass of campers shouts, loud enough to be heard over everything else.</p><p>There’s a blur of red sprinting out of the crowd before Tendou is throwing his long, gangly arms around Ushijima’s neck and wrapping his legs around his waist, forcing Ushijima to catch him in his arms. To his credit, he doesn’t even waver, standing as strong and solid as he always does. The cheering and applause only gets louder.</p><p>“Satori,” Ushijima says, with a smile Tsukishima has never seen tugging at his lips. “I’m sorry I missed our lunch.”</p><p>Tendou laughs wetly. “That’s okay. You can make it up to me.”</p><p>Tsukishima feels like he’ll be intruding on a pretty intimate moment if he keeps watching too much longer, but before he can look away, Tendou catches his eye over Ushijima’s shoulder and mouths something to him:</p><p>
  <i>‘Thank you.’</i>
</p><p>A warmth blossoms right in the cage of Tsukishima’s chest.</p><p>He makes his way through the crowd, accepting a few pats on the backs from fellow campers, looking over their heads for a telltale black bedhead. </p><p>He passes by Yaku and Lev, the taller boy crouched over to look Yaku over from head to toe, checking for injuries. Yaku was blushing and swatting at his shoulders ineffectively, but there was an indulgent smile on his face. Koganegawa was openly sobbing, hugging Aone’s head to his chest and petting his hair like he was a lost pet finally returned home. Aone said nothing, per usual, but he awkwardly twisted his body so that he could give his younger brother comforting pats on the arm.</p><p>Sugawara and Yamaguchi catch him at the same time, squishing him between them and hugging him at the same time, crying and getting snot all over his shirt. He squirms and complains half-heartedly, but there are a few tears trailing down his cheeks, too.</p><p>“Tsukki, you’re insane! When I said you should tell Kuroo how you feel, I didn’t mean you had to risk your life to do it!” Yamaguchi flicks him on the forehead. Sugawara just winks and presses a quick kiss to his temple, before pulling back with a wrinkled nose and instructions for Tsukishima to shower as soon as possible.</p><p>Hinata of all people exuberantly runs up to him next, jumping up and down in place and making aggressive sound effects with his mouth that Tsukishima can only guess the meaning of. Kageyama trails behind him, and when Hinata has to stop talking to take a breath, the son of Ares takes the opportunity to say:</p><p>“A lot of legendary weapons get most of their power from their names, and you named yours…friendship.”</p><p>The tips of Tsukishima’s ears burn indignantly at the deadpan delivery. </p><p>“There is literally nothing I could say in response to that that wouldn’t be painfully cheesy, so I’m going to ignore the comment.”</p><p>Finally, Tsukishima spots Kuroo with Bokuto and Akaashi through the crowd. But before he can join them, he’s tapped lightly on the shoulder and stopped by a silky voice.</p><p>“So, how’d she treat ya?” Oikawa rocks on his heels expectantly, hands clasped behind his back and eyes twinkling.</p><p>“Saved my life once or twice,” Tsukishima admits, patting his backpack. “Thank you. And thank Iwaizumi for me, too.”</p><p>“That was the plan,” Oikawa beams proudly. “I’ll let Iwa know his precious creation was put to good use.” He arches an eyebrow and suddenly grabs Tsukishima by the arm, voice growing low and conspiratorial. “And how did <i>he</i> treat you, hm?”</p><p>Tsukishima feels his cheeks flame, shrugging off the son of Aphrodite. How did Oikawa even know? He and Kuroo had stopped holding hands when they made it to camp, not because they didn’t want people to know, but because they didn’t want it to be about them right now.</p><p>“That obvious, huh?”</p><p>“To me?” Oikawa grins. “Since you were thirteen years old and so painfully and obliviously enamored, my darling Kei.”</p><p>When Kuroo sees Tsukishima walking towards him, he thinks the smile on his face is probably making it that obvious to <i>everyone</i> with eyes.</p><p>“What are you smiling like that for?” Tsukishima mumbles, letting Kuroo tug him firmly to his side.</p><p>“Mmm,” Kuroo hums. “Just like looking at you. Oh, and also, that.” He nods towards Akaashi and Bokuto.</p><p>Akaashi is right up in Bokuto’s face, making up for any height and mass that the son of Zeus has on him with pure fiery determination, jabbing his finger repeatedly into Bokuto’s chest and making Tsukishima wince in sympathy.</p><p>“Are they…fighting?”</p><p>“No,” Kuroo sighs contently. “They’re metamorphosing.”</p><p>Akaashi suddenly raises his voice, and Tsukishima can make out the words: “Next time you’re going to fight a god, you better call me first! Or at the very least, don’t sneak out without even saying goodbye!”</p><p>“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Bokuto raises his hands defenselessly. “I’ll never do it again, I swear!”</p><p>“You’re so senseless!” Akaashi’s face is flushed red. Tsukishima has never seen his brother lose his cool like this. It’s like studying a new species for the first time.</p><p>“I know, I really am sorry!”</p><p>“If you had died, I would’ve killed you!”</p><p>“And I accept that! That’s totally fair! Whatever you want, Akaashi!”</p><p>“Just - Shut up!” Akaashi screams louder than Tsukishima has ever heard him. Bokuto’s jaw snaps closed just in time for Akaashi to twist his fingers into the material of his shirt and haul him in for a kiss. Bokuto’s eyes go wide as the moon, but he’s quick to react, wrapping his arms around Akaashi’s waist and lifting him in the air, kissing him back with equal vigor.</p><p>Yup. Tsukishima is <i>so</i> never telling Akaashi about what Athena said.</p><p>“Would you look at that,” Kuroo says smugly, pressing a kiss to the top of Tsukishima’s head.</p><p>“They grow up so fast.” Tsukishima wipes a fake tear from the corner of his eye and they smirk at each other.</p><p>The two of them stand quietly together, wrapped up in each other’s arms and observing the excitement and celebration going on around them. It really would be a shame to ruin such a happy moment. </p><p>Neither he nor Kuroo say anything to each other, but he knows they’re both thinking the same thing.</p><p>The end of their world can wait until tomorrow.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Sugawara technically hadn’t asked Tsukishima for Athena’s Invisibility Cap back yet, so he doesn’t consider it stealing that he hangs onto it for just one more night.</p><p>Tsukishima pretends to be asleep until lights out, then reaches under his bed and pulls the hat out of his backpack. He makes sure to crack the cabin door only as much as necessary, his heart leaping into his throat when the hinges make a loud squeaking noise. Daishou makes a quiet grumbling noise and rolls over in his sleep, but doesn’t open his eyes. Tsukishima releases his breath and slips out of the cabin and into the night.</p><p>The door to the Hades cabin is already cracked open, so all he has to do is wedge his foot in the door and gently ease it open.</p><p>He’s been in the Hades cabin with Kuroo alone dozens of times before, but this time, everything feels completely different.</p><p>The Greek fire lining the walls is dimmed just low enough that Tsukishima can make out the sight of Kuroo laying in the center of his bed. His back is to the door, and he’s completely shirtless and laying on top of the sheets. This also isn’t anything new, since Kuroo was notoriously hot-blooded and got too overheated in his sleep during the summer. </p><p>But this time, Tsukishima doesn’t feel guilty about taking in the view: His boyfriend’s flawlessly tanned skin and the curves of his muscles, the lovely and messy way his dark hair fans out on the pillow beneath him like spilled black ink.</p><p>“You just gonna stand there staring all night?” Kuroo asks without rolling over.</p><p>Tsukishima takes off the Invisibility Cap and shakes out his hair. “How did you know?” </p><p>Kuroo rolls over and grins at him, his white teeth glowing in the dark. “I told you already, I got a sixth sense just for you, baby. Now get over here already, would ya?”</p><p>Tsukishima has laid in Kuroo’s bed with him countless times before, but this is the first time they’ve done it pressed so close together like this; from their touching foreheads to their entangled legs. The first time Kuroo has held him with a strong arm around his waist, and Tsukishima could feel the heat of his bare chest through the thin material of his sleep shirt. The first time he could look into Kuroo’s brilliant golden eyes and not have to look away.</p><p>“Hi,” Kuroo whispers, and they’re so close that Tsukishima can feel the word breathed across his lips.</p><p>“Hello.”</p><p>“We lived.”</p><p>“Honestly did not see that one coming.”</p><p>Kuroo huffs a small laugh, and the tips of his fingers slip beneath Tsukishima’s shirt to brush against the small of his back. He shivers at the feather-light touch and Kuroo holds him tighter.</p><p>“I feel like we haven’t had a moment alone since…you know.” Kuroo’s blush is just barely visible in the dim lighting.</p><p>“We were a little busy trying not to die,” Tsukishima points out. Some of Kuroo’s hair falls into his eyes and Tsukishima pushes it out of the way, letting his fingers linger on the side of his face. Kuroo hums low in his throat and leans into the touch.</p><p>“Have I even told you that I love you since then?”</p><p>“Once.” Not that Tsukishima was counting or anything.</p><p>“Mmmm. Not nearly enough.” Kuroo nudges the tip of Tsukishima’s nose with his, looking him right in the eyes. “I love you.”</p><p>Tsukishima ducks his head and grins. “I love you, too.”</p><p>“Hey, Kei? I love you.”</p><p>“Yes, you just -"</p><p>“Kei, darling, I love you <i>so</i> much.”</p><p>“Alright, I got -"</p><p>“I love you, I love you, I love -"</p><p>“Okay!” Tsukishima laughs, covering Kuroo’s mouth with his hands. “I know already!”</p><p>Kuroo’s eyes crinkle up at the corners with his smile, gently pulling Tsukishima’s hands away from his mouth so he can speak again.</p><p>“I have a lot of lost time to make up for.”</p><p>“I’m also charging you interest,” Tsukishima informs him.</p><p>Kuroo reaches up to cup his cheek, his thumb brushing the corner of Tsukishima’s mouth. “Guess I better start paying up, then.”</p><p>“Guess you better.” Tsukishima lets his eyes drift shut barely a second before he feels Kuroo’s lips brushing against his.</p><p>This feels like home more than any other place in the world.</p><p>Kuroo sighs happily. “Yup, still just as good as I remember.”</p><p>Tsukishima scoffs. “I would hope so, since I’m the only person you’ll be kissing from now on.”</p><p>He hadn’t realized the implication of his words before he said them, but then Kuroo’s eyes light up, a smirk curling at his lips.</p><p>“From now on, huh? So in other words, ’til death do we part?” He teases.</p><p>
  <i>Yes.</i>
</p><p>“Shut up.” Tsukishima knows he’s blushing, but he doesn’t take his words back. He had meant them after all. “That may be a lot sooner than you think.”</p><p>The air seems to grow thicker, harder to breathe.</p><p>“Please don’t say things like that.” Kuroo’s fingers dig into Tsukishima’s hip almost painfully. “I can’t even think about - If you ever - If you - <i>Fuck.”</i> He buries his head into Tsukishima’s neck, lips pressed right over his pulse point.</p><p>Tsukishima cards his fingers through Kuroo’s hair comfortingly. “We can ignore this for a night, but not forever. I mean, think about what Apollo told us, all of the minor gods that are going to fight with Thanatos. If a war breaks out, there will be fighting in the air, the sea, the land - even in our <i>heads!</i> Even if the Olympian Gods manage to win, the war alone will destroy the world.” His fingers still. “Unless somebody stops it.”</p><p>Kuroo blinks one eye up at him. “Go on.”</p><p>“The Gods of Olympus are preparing to fight a war,” Tsukishima starts slowly, watching for Kuroo’s reaction. “But if someone was able to stop it before it even started, then… Then maybe the world wouldn’t end.”</p><p>“I take it from your tone of voice and that beautifully determined look in your eyes, that person is you?” Kuroo quirks a lopsided grin</p><p>“It has to be me.”</p><p>“Yeah.” Kuroo lays a hand on Tsukishima’s cheek. “I had a feeling you were gonna say that.”</p><p>“It’s just,” Tsukishima rushes to explain. “I’m the one that Thanatos has a personal vendetta against now, not that the minor gods would even need another reason to attack Camp Half Blood.”</p><p>“You think they’ll come for camp?” Kuroo’s eyebrows draw together. Tsukishima smoothes out the harsh lines with his fingertips until his face relaxes again, but his lips are still pulled into a frown.</p><p>“Demigods are always the first line of defense in the gods’ wars. The most strategic thing for the minor gods to do would be to take us out first. Without their children in the way, it’s just gods versus gods. They’ll come for Camp Half Blood,” Tsukishima says firmly. “I’m sure of it.”</p><p>“Okay,” Kuroo says, nodding slowly. “If you say they will, I believe you. So what’s our game plan?”</p><p>“Kuroo, no - I can’t ask you to -" He sighs, taking Kuroo’s hand from his face and holding it between their bodies. “You’re supposed to be starting college in the fall. You’re gonna hear back from New Rome University any day now, and  -"</p><p>“Actually,” Kuroo cuts him off with a sheepish grin. “I already heard back from New Rome University.”</p><p>“What?” Tsukishima blinks. “When?”</p><p>“A few months ago,” Kuroo admits. “Same time Bokuto and Akaashi did.”</p><p>“Why the hell didn’t you tell me?” Tsukishima asks, poking him hard in the chest. “Actually, you know what, forget about that. What did they <i>say?”</i></p><p>He holds his breath waiting for Kuroo’s answer, and his face gives away nothing. Did he lie to Tsukishima about hearing back from them because he was rejected? Was he was too embarrassed to say so? A sick part of Tsukishima actually wouldn't mind that. If Kuroo wasn’t accepted to college, then he wasn’t going to leave yet, and -</p><p>“I got in.”</p><p>“Tetsurou,” Tsukishima breathes. “That’s amazing. I’m so happy for you.”</p><p>And he is. He <i>is</i> he tells himself firmly. Kuroo deserves this. Tsukishima is so beyond proud of him, and they’ve had to say goodbye to each other many times before. They can make long distance work.</p><p>Kuroo shakes his head and tilts Tsukishima’s chin up to look him in the eye.</p><p>“I already told them I’m not going.”</p><p>“Like hell you’re not! Why wouldn’t you?”</p><p>“I mean, that’s not <i>exactly</i> what I told them,” Kuroo backtracks quickly. “I just asked them to…defer my acceptance for a year.”</p><p>“Why would you do that?” Tsukishima asks, genuinely confused. Kuroo grins almost shyly and lowers his gaze. </p><p>“I wanted to take a gap year.”</p><p>“To travel?”</p><p>“To spend as much time at camp as possible with you.”</p><p>
  <i>Holy Hades. He’s dating the sappiest idiot in the world.</i>
</p><p>“So you’re telling me… That you wanted to spend a whole year here? With me? Instead of going to college?” Tsukishima asks very slowly. “And you’ve been planning on doing this for months now?”</p><p>“Yup,” Kuroo confirms, popping the ‘p’ with a grin.</p><p>“You idiot!” Tsukishima punches him square in the solar plexus.</p><p><i>“Ouuuuch!”</i> Kuroo whines, holding his abused chest. “What was that for?”</p><p>“I don’t want you to put off going to college for me!”</p><p>“Don’t be selfish,” Kuroo pouts. “I was gonna miss you. If anything, I did this for me.”</p><p>Tsukishima sighs and butts their heads together gently. “I was gonna miss you, too, Death Boy.”</p><p>“It’s kinda romantic, huh?” Kuroo winks. “I wanted to spend your last year at camp together with you, and then I thought in the fall, we could go to New Rome University…together?” His voice gets higher at the end, uncertainly.</p><p>Tsukishima frowns and shakes his head, overwhelmed by all of the information he’s receiving right now.</p><p>Okay, so most importantly: Kuroo <i>isn’t</i> leaving. The one thing Tsukishima has been dreading more than anything else for almost a year now…isn’t happening anymore? It’s almost too good to believe. Even more unbelievable: Kuroo wants Tsukishima to go to <i>college</i> with him.</p><p>“That’s not - I can’t do that? I never even went to high school! I don’t have any transcripts or, or a diploma, or anything!”</p><p>Kuroo sits up excitedly, pulling Tsukishima with him so that they’re facing each other with their legs wrapped around the other’s waist. “I know! I know, but I’ve been looking into it, and you can just take the GRE and get a stellar score on your SAT and they’ll totally let you in! They’d have to be complete idiots not to. It’ll be a breeze for someone as smart as you.”</p><p>There’s a dangerous fizzle of hope bubbling up in Tsukishima’s chest, and he can’t find it in himself to push it down. Not when Kuroo is looking at him like that, all wide-eyed and expectant.</p><p>“It sounds…doable,” Tsukishima allows, barely containing the smile on his face. Kuroo cheers and tackles Tsukishima back onto the bed. Their knees dig uncomfortably each other’s into soft, vulnerable spots for a few second before they settle comfortably, with Kuroo laying between his legs and holding himself up with his elbows propped beside Tsukishima’s face.</p><p>“You’re doable,” Kuroo grins cheekily and Tsukishima knees him in the ribs. Kuroo laughs through a grunt of pain.</p><p>“Idiot. You seem to have very quickly forgotten about the whole saving the world business.”</p><p>“Ah, right. That.” Kuroo noses at his cheek and hums as he thinks. “Okay, let’s make a deal, then.”</p><p>“What kind of a deal?” Tsukishima asks suspiciously.</p><p>“One year.”</p><p>“One year?”</p><p>“You remember what Apollo said. We have some time until Thanatos and his army really start getting serious, so we’ll give ourselves one year. One year to save the world, and then next fall, me and you are gonna go off to New Rome and start our real lives together, far away from all this mess.” He props himself up on one elbow so he can hold his pinky in front of Tsukishima’s face. “How about it?”</p><p>Tsukishima stares at Kuroo’s proffered finger. It all sounds so simple when Kuroo says it, just like everything with him is.</p><p>“Does…” Tsukishima bites his lip. “Does New Rome University have a library?” He asks in a small voice.</p><p>“Does New Rome University have a library?” Kuroo repeats with a scandalous gasp, squeezing Tsukishima’s middle and rolling on top of him, squishing his ribcage and hovering above him so that the fringe of his hair tickles Tsukishima’s cheeks. “You will be pleased to hear, my dearest Kei, that professional bookworm himself, Akaashi Keiji, called New Rome University’s library the ‘next best collection after Alexandria was burned down’.”</p><p>“No he did not,” Tsukishima laughs breathlessly, looking up into Kuroo’s bright eyes, dancing with elation.</p><p>“He did,” Kuroo swears. “I’ll go get him to confirm it for you right now if it’ll make you say yes.” He moves to climb out of the bed, like he’s actually going to sneak into the Athena cabin in the middle of the night just to wake Akaashi up and ask him. He’s way too scared of Akaashi to actually do it, Tsukishima knows, but he still wraps his legs around Kuroo’s waist to pull him close again and hold him in place.</p><p>“Okay,” Tsukishima huffs, grinning so big his eyes crinkle up. He links his pinky with Kuroo’s. “One year.”</p><p>Kuroo kisses their fingers and makes it official. </p><p>With the promise sealed, they shuffle back into a comfortable position to go to sleep, with Kuroo sprawled out on his back and Tsukishima using his chest as a pillow. Kuroo’s arm wraps around his shoulder, stroking up and down his arm thoughtlessly, and Tsukishima throws one of his legs over Kuroo’s. Just two oddly shaped puzzle pieces that fit together perfectly.</p><p>Lips pressed to Tsukishima’s hairline, Kuroo mumbles sleepily, “Still a few weeks left of summer, though. Let’s enjoy the rest of it while we can, and we’ll call it one year starting then.”</p><p>“Mmm,” Tsukishima agrees in a hum. “The world won’t end before the summer does, I guess.”</p><p>“It hasn’t yet.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Do you ever think this is too good to be true?” Kuroo asks, his skin glowing bronze in the early morning sunlight and pillow creases on his cheek. He has one hand propping up his chin, and the other drawing lazy patterns across Tsukishima’s back.</p><p>“Really?” Tsukishima snorts. “Do <i>I</i> ever think this is too good to be true?” He blinks up at Kuroo and shrugs one shoulder. “I guess there always has to be somebody to play the love interest.”</p><p>“The love - ?” Kuroo’s hands still and he laughs, warm and throaty. “Have you seriously not realized it yet? You’re the hero of this story, Kei.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The last campfire of the summer was always the saddest.</p><p>Every year they had to say goodbye to the older campers, the ones who were going off to college, or to start new jobs and lives away from the home and the friends they made in their adolescence. But this was the first time that Tsukishima was having to watch people he was particularly close to leave.</p><p>Oikawa is going across the country to live in New Rome with Iwaizumi. Tendou is moving to Texas to become a boxing instructor, along with Ushijima, who’s opening his own flower shop. Semi Eita got into one of the best music programs in the world and is going to Berklee for school, and Daishou and Mika are both starting NYU together in just a few days. Osamu, Suna, and Kita are leaving to go backpacking around Europe for who knows how long, and Sugawara, Daichi, Akaashi, and Bokuto are all going to New Rome University, as well.</p><p>His family, all of the people who grew up with, are scattering across the globe. This is probably the last time they'll all be together like this.</p><p>He looks around the campfire and takes in all of their faces, even though he’s seen them all hundreds of times. He wants to commit them to memory, wants to save this entire moment as a snapshot in his mind’s eye. He knows he’ll never forget these people, or what they did for him, but he still needs to make doubly sure.</p><p>Normally, he sits next to Kuroo during campfires, but he sits between Akaashi and Sugawara tonight. Sugawara has been crying on and off for the past week, and tonight is no different. Tsukishima pretends to be exasperated, but he doesn’t mind the way his older brother clings to him and dampens the collar of his t-shirt with salty tears.</p><p>Semi Eita sits in the center of the circle to play them all one final song.</p><p>“We may all be going our separate ways soon, but we’ll still be one big, dysfunctional family,” Semi says, looking at all the faces sitting around the fire. “No matter how far you you may go or what you may need, we’re always gonna have each other’s backs. So just call if you ever need anything.” He flashes them all his signature heart-stopping smile and starts to play - one last time. </p><p>
  <i>Lean on me, when you're not strong</i><br/>
<i>And I'll be your friend</i><br/>
<i>I'll help you carry on</i><br/>
<i>For it won't be long</i><br/>
<i>'Til I'm gonna need</i><br/>
<i>Somebody to lean on</i>
</p><p>It hurts Tsukishima too much to look at Shirabu in this moment, but he can hear the way he valiantly tries to muffle his choked sobs, and it strikes a painful chord a little too deep in his heart. Oikawa wraps his younger brother up in his arms and hums, rocking him along to the music.</p><p>One by one, the rest of the campers around the circle put their arms around each other and sway in time to the music. Akaashi and Sugawara put their arms over Tsukishima’s shoulders even though he’s taller than them, and he wraps his around their backs. Neither of them says anything about it when he holds on a little too tight, probably wrinkling the material of their shirts.</p><p>Tsukishima glances past Akaashi, past Bokuto on his other side, and finds Kuroo. His boyfriend is already looking back at him, and when he smiles, Tsukishima’s heart feels a little stronger.</p><p>He can handle this. As long as Kuroo is with him, he can handle anything.</p><p>At least, that’s what he thinks until the last notes of the final song of the summer play out.</p><p>And then, the farewells begin.</p><p>He feels selfish, being as sad as he is. Watching Shirabu breaking down in tears as Semi Eita slips off his ever-present dog tag necklace and places it around the son of Aphrodite’s neck. Futakuchi is fighting to hold back his tears - he once told Tsukishima he thought he was an ugly crier (he’s not) - but it’s a losing battle as he clings onto Oikawa like he never wants to let his brother go. Koganegawa awkwardly stands by, patting Futakuchi’s shoulder comfortingly. </p><p>Yamaguchi and Ushijima’s goodbye isn’t as horribly sad, since the two of them will still be working closely together on cultivating new plants this next year, until Yamaguchi moves out and works at Ushijima’s flower shop with him. Goshiki, though, is an absolute mess. He’s always admired Ushijima, even when the older boy didn’t end up being a son of Ares, and Tendou ruffles his brother’s bowl-cut with quiet words of comfort, while Goshiki angrily tries to blink away his tears, even as they drip down his chin.</p><p>Kageyama looks a few seconds from spontaneously imploding when Daichi hugs him, and Hinata doubles over in laughter at the look on his emotionally-constipated face. Even Atsumu and Osamu are affectionally bickering as they say their goodbyes. Originally, Atsumu was supposed to be going on the backpacking trip with Osamu, Suna, and Kita, but when he heard about the potential impending war, he decided to stay behind another year to help out and stay on as the Hermes cabin leader. There’s a pretty good chance this is the first time the twins will be apart in their lives.</p><p>Tsukishima knows he doesn’t have any sort of monopoly on being sad here. This happens every summer. All things eventually come to an end, logically he’s always known this.</p><p>It doesn’t make it any easier.</p><p>“I -" Tsukishima chokes and Sugawara squeezes his hands tightly between them, giving Tsukishima a watery, encouraging smile. “I don’t know how to say goodbye,” he finally admits in a small voice.</p><p>“That’s okay.” Sugawara leans in like he’s going to tell Tsukishima a huge secret of the universe. “Nobody ever really does.”</p><p>I don’t know how to say goodbye to <i>you,</i> Tsukishima wants to correct himself, but he’s afraid it’ll make Sugawara’s thinly held composure break completely. How does one even say goodbye to someone like Sugawara? Since Tsukishima was six years old, Sugawara has been one of the biggest constants in his life. His older brother, his mentor, his best friend. Unlike Akaashi, Sugawara was a year-rounder, just like him, so Tsukishima has never actually said goodbye to Sugawara before.</p><p>There are too many things he still needs to say to him, questions he needs to ask. Even though they’ve spent practically their entire lives together, Tsukishima feels like it wasn’t enough time.</p><p>“Thank you,” he settles on. “Thank you for everything.”</p><p>It’s not nearly enough, but it’ll have to do for now.</p><p>“Oh, <i>Kei.”</i> The dam breaks and Sugawara’s tears start to fall. He flings his arms around Tsukishima’s neck and hauls him down into a fierce hug. “You don’t have to thank me for anything, you know? Not a single thing. Being your brother, and getting to see you grow up into this amazing young man has - has been - the <i>best</i> experience of my life.”</p><p>Oh, shoot.</p><p>Now Tsukishima is crying, too.</p><p>“I don’t know what I’m going to do without you,” he whispers. Sugawara pulls back so he can look Tsukishima full in the eye.</p><p>“You,” he says firmly, “are going to do just fine. No - better than fine! My little brother is going to save the world!” He announces loudly, drawing the attention of a few nearby campers, who cheer. Tsukishima blushes.</p><p>“You are so embarrassing,” he whines. Sugawara ruffles his hair like he’s a little kid and smiles.</p><p>“I love you, too, Kei.”</p><p>“You and Daichi help Akaashi keep an eye on Bokuto until Kuroo and I get there, okay? It’s more of a three man job.”</p><p>Sugawara laughs, and Tsukishima wants to bottle up the sound and wear it close to his heart.</p><p>“I promise. We’ll be together again soon.”</p><p>Tsukishima really, <i>really</i> hopes so.</p><p>Saying goodbye to Bokuto and Akaashi is a little more familiar, but has never gotten easier over the years. It’s only made slightly more bearable with Kuroo’s arm around his shoulder, and the fact that this year, at least he’s not leaving Tsukishima.</p><p>“Are you <i>sure</i> you guys don’t need us to stay?” Akaashi asks for what must be the five zillionth time since Tsukishima and Kuroo had told everyone about their year-long plan to stop a war and save the world. “Because we will, you know. College can always wait another year.”</p><p>“Yes,” Tsukishima huffs fondly. “For the last time, we’re <i>sure.</i> You guys go on, you deserve it. We got this handled.”</p><p>Akaashi frowns. “Well, okay… If you’re absolutely positive -"</p><p>“Babe!” Bokuto laughs. “They’re absolutely, one million percent sure! They don’t need us crashing their couples’ getaway around the world.” He raises his eyebrows suggestively.</p><p>“Wait, you guys aren’t going alone are you?” Akaashi’s eyes widen in alarm.</p><p>“No, <i>mom,</i>” Kuroo rolls his eyes. </p><p>“We already have a…team in mind.”</p><p>“Avengers, assemble!”</p><p>“Copyright infringement,” Tsukishima points out.</p><p>“Hmmm… Half Bloods, huddle!” Kuroo tries.</p><p>“Absolutely not.”</p><p>“Fine,” Akaashi finally relents, pulling Tsukishima out from under Kuroo and wrapping him in a tight hug. “But if you need anything - and I mean <i>anything</i> - I’m just an Iris call away, okay?”</p><p>“Okay.” Tsukishima ducks his head into Akaashi’s shoulder. “I’ll call if we need you. I promise.”</p><p>“They’re not gonna need us,” Bokuto crows confidently. “Tsukki and Kuroo are strong enough to defy the Fates themselves! There’s no way they’re gonna lose.” He pumps a fist in the air. Kuroo pulls him into an affectionate headlock and Akaashi squeezes Tsukishima’s hand while they watch.</p><p>“I am so, so proud of you,” his brother whispers.</p><p>The instinct to disagree is on the tip of his tongue, but before it can leave his lips, Tsukishima swallows it back down. Because, well, he’s a little proud of himself, too.</p><p>Eventually, the fire goes out and there are no more goodbyes left to say.</p><p>Tsukishima walks back to the cabins with Kuroo, their hands swinging together between them. </p><p>“One year, starting tomorrow. Are you ready to save the world, Tsukishima Kei?”</p><p>It feels like an ending, but the battle’s just begun.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>*</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Tsukishima has seen a lot of things in his time at Camp Half Blood.</p><p>He saw the son of Hades fall out of the sky like a dying star and crash-land in the middle of the training grounds. He saw the longest-running winning streak the Athena cabin has ever had in capture the flag, and he saw Iwaizumi finally give in to the fact that he’d probably lay siege to entire nations if Oikawa Toruu asked him to. He saw the loveliest boy in the Aphrodite cabin in a new light for the first time, and he saw the insides of his eyelids when that same boy gave him his first kiss. He saw Akaashi fall in love more slowly and painfully than root canal (though maybe they saw him and Kuroo doing the same thing). He saw the broken faces of those who lost parts of themselves to campers on quests, and saw them mend again when those campers came back.</p><p>Tsukishima has seen a lot of things outside of Camp Half Blood, too.</p><p>He saw a frat house full of half-drunk centaurs, and pinch-lipped librarians who put the fear of Phobos in him. He looked the God of Death in his cold, empty eyes, and he saw what it looks like to wake up with Kuroo Tetsurou cuddling him. He watched as his own weapon struck a killing blow to the legendary Nemean Lion, and saw the Rocky Mountains from hundreds of feet above. He saw the golden ichor of a god bleeding, and he saw Cerberus chase a red rubber ball of a cliff. He saw the God of the Underworld himself sitting upon his skull-adorned throne, and he saw the world from high in the sky, aboard Apollo’s Sun Chariot.</p><p> </p><p>And he’s going to see a lot more.</p><p> </p><p>“Oi! Are you two lovebirds ready to set sail, or what?”</p><p>The shout from below deck is accompanied by a chorus of other voices, shouting to be heard over each other. Two of them arguing, one laughing loudly here and there, someone trying to calm the rest of them down. Tsukishima can’t believe he actually signed up for a year of this chaos with <i>these</i> people.</p><p>He looks beyond the helm of The <i>Argo II</i> towards the endless horizon. Once they cast off and leave Camp Half Blood, that’ll be it.</p><p>Kuroo wraps his arms around his waist from behind and props his chin on his shoulder. “Well? What do you say?”</p><p>Tsukishima takes a deep breath and looks back at Camp Half Blood one last time.</p><p>“One year, starting now.”</p><p>“All right! Avengers -"</p><p>“Copyright.”</p><p>“Crap.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>wow..... WOW. i'm super emotional right now!! this if officially by far the longest, most involved fic ive ever written and ive grown so attached to this world and these characters - and that's why, yes, the secret is out: </p><p>this fic will be getting a sequel!!</p><p>'one year' is going to be the next part in this pjo!au series, all about the year that tsukki and kuroo (and their mystery cast of friends) spend saving the world! this first fic was based more loosely on the original percy jackson series, and the sequel will be more of an homage to the Heroes of Olympus series - seven demigods, one flying boat, and a trip around the world to stop a war.</p><p>i cannot thank everyone enough for all of the love and support on this fic and pls stay tuned for more works in and out of the universe from me! :)</p><p>let me know what u thought in the comments, and come scream with me on <a href="https://twitter.com/oiiblondie">twitter!!</a></p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>next chapter u can expect: a time skip! a quest! some godly guest appearances! a three-headed dog! gay boyfriends galore!!</p><p>let me know how ur liking it so far in the comments, and ill see u next time!</p><p>as always, come be my friend on <a href="https://twitter.com/oiiblondie">twitter!</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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